Directors roster: in affiliation with Spencer Stuart - a quarterly record of new director appointments.

• Author: Porter, Martin

In affiliation with Spencer Stuart--a quarterly record of new director appointments

This edition of the Directors Roster features 274 directors that have joined 220 corporate boards. What led to these appointments? While we can't report on the dynamics of each invitation, here is what three of these new directors had to say about their election.

John G. Connors, chief information officer of Microsoft Corp., joined the board of Montana Power Co. in December 1997. Connors met the president and CEO of Montana Power at a conference where Connors was addressing utility industry CEOs. He had been invited to speak at the conference by a Montana Power executive who, Re Connors, had attended the University of Montana. Connors later became acquainted with Montana Power's CEO, Daniel T. Berube, when Berube visited Microsoft's information technology group (which Connors oversees). The group hosts more than 825 customer visits annually as part of Microsoft's sales support strategy. Connors' personal interaction with Montana Power's executives led to his invitation to join their board.

"Including the fact that Montana Power Co. is a superb corporate citizen, I was real interested in their offer for a couple of reasons," says 39-year-old Connors, including his desire to join an outside corporate board for the first time and because of Montana Power's geographic location.

Connors believes a utility company presents challenges in corporate governance, including operating within state, local, and grassroots regulatory and environmental frameworks. Working with a company and an industry moving toward deregulation was particularly appealing. "This issue of regulation of the utility industry is in contrast with the in formation technology industry, whose regulation has largely been determined by the marketplace," he says.

Another aspect Connors finds appealing is working with an industry whose customers have a "dial tone mentality." "As with the information technology business, people expect your service to work all the time. If it works all the time, you get a C. If it doesn't, you get an F."

He notes that Microsoft typically does not encourage its executives to serve on outside boards except when Microsoft has an equity stake in the company. "I've been approached by a number of companies that wanted me to join their boards, particularly small to mid-sized technology companies. We've turned them down each time, because you never know when you're going to be...