FEI board restructuring deserves support.

• Author: Borelli, Frank J.
• Position: Financial Executives Institute

One of the major challenges FEI's board of directors faces is broadening member representation in the governance structure while maximizing the board's efficiency. FEI's particular challenge is to use the experience and insight of chapter presidents and technical committee chairs in the decision-making process, while keeping the governing body nimble and responsive.

Over the years, FEI's board has addressed these concerns in several different ways. These include increasing chapter president participation in Area Operations Committee meetings, periodic reports from technical committee chairs at board meetings, and the creation last spring of the Office of the Chairman to provide closer senior volunteer leadership oversight of FEI's principal activities.

To improve the process further, last fall the Office of the Chairman consulted with the institute's seven area vice presidents about the structure of FEI's national board. Their suggestions, combined with our experiences and discussions over recent years, led to the drafting of a restructuring proposal. The proposal was discussed at Executive Committee and U.S. Area Operations Committee meetings this winter. A final proposal emerged from this process, which the board approved at its meeting in February. The proposal has been submitted for membership approval. Briefly, the proposed restructuring calls for:

* Restructuring the Area Operations Committees, which include the chapter presidents in each area, into area boards. These new boards would monitor the performance of the chapters in the area and work with staff and volunteer leaders to ensure each chapter has adequate support to operate effectively and achieve major goals. Area boards will vote on all major issues to be considered by the national board. Each area board will have an executive committee composed of the area vice president and the elected area directors.

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