Topic: Jumpstarting Your Board Journey

Speaker: Suzanne M. Burns, Global Board & CEO Succession Practices, Spencer Stuart Chicago 

Presentation:

Are you considering joining a board and don’t know where to start?  If so, this session is for you!  Suzanne Burns, a trusted executive advisor and partner with Spencer Stuart’s Board of Director Practice, will provide the foundational knowledge you need to start preparing for the first steps of pursuing a board. You’ll learn about the various types of boards from non-profit to public company and which option is the best for your specific career stage.  We will also discuss what to expect when pursuing board roles in light of Spencer Stuart’s recently released 2024 Board Index findings. The session will conclude with Q&A and cover the board search process from positioning yourself for board service to finding new opportunities to evaluating offers.  Please join us to gain these insights and have your questions answered.   

Speaker's Bio: 

Suzanne M. Burns is a trusted advisor to numerous public and private company CEOs and Board Nominating & Governance Committees, where she shares her knowledge of board best practices, CEO succession planning, insights on deliberate organizational and cultural alignment, and perspective on how to successfully attract and develop diverse talent to drive shareholder value. Ms. Burns is known for elevating strategies and developing winning, executable courses of action. She intuitively sees the threads of opportunity that wind through an organization, brings them together in a cohesive design and helps others broaden their thinking in the process.

As a Senior Partner with Spencer Stuart, Ms. Burns is a member of the firm’s Board, CEO, Industrial, Digital Transformation and Private Equity practices. She devotes her time to advising global clients on Board and C-suite talent selection, cultural transformation, and board effectiveness to increase diversity and competitiveness. 

Ms. Burns currently sits on the Board of Directors for Benco Dental Supply Company, a leading dental equipment distributor, and chairs its Growth & Diversification and CEO Evaluation Committees and Palmer-Donavin. She also serves as the President of the Private Directors Association’s (PDA) Chicago Chapter and on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Botanic Garden Board where she chairs the Human Capital & Compensation and Succession Committees. As Chair of the Women Corporate Directors Chicago Chapter and prior Vice Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital Foundation Board, she is committed to improving equity for women and children. She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, and The Chicago Club and previously served on the boards of Communities In Schools of Chicago, Leadership Greater Chicago, and as Spencer Stuart’s board representative with the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) for six years. She holds the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Director Certification® and through her various organizations and Board & CEO Practice work at Spencer Stuart stays abreast of the latest trends in corporate governance. Ms. Burns holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin and an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University.