Beth Comstock, a Nike Inc. director, says she picked up ideas inthe shoemaker's boardroom about doing business in India byappealing to that country's love of cricket. Now she's taking whatshe learned back to her day job as General Electric Co.'s marketingchief.

Comstock shows how women are breaking through a path traveled bymen for decades in male-dominated boards: They're increasinglywelcomed as directors at corporations such as HoneywellInternational Inc. and General Dynamics Corp. without having servedas a chief executive officer at another company. And like men,they're getting critical experience out of it.

Last year 34 percent of new female directors didn't have a CEOjob, up from 6 percent in 2008, said Julie Daum, a recruiter atSpencer Stuart and an advocate for placing more women on boards.Opening up spots is important because it helps break the gendergap. If boards focus on CEO directors, they'll leave out many womensince fewer have that background.

“You can't just have a knee-jerk reaction that you need anactive CEO,” said Daum, who co-leads Spencer Stuart's NorthAmerican Board & CEO Practice from New York. Only 4 percent ofStandard & Poor's 500 Index chief executives are women.

As women rise in the executive ranks, it's easier to find theright candidates, Honeywell CEO David Cote said. He should know:The manufacturer added Grace Lieblein from General Motors Co. toits board in December and nominated RobinWashington, 50, Gilead Science Inc.'s chief financial officer,for the slate of directors to be considered April 22.

“You look for years and then all of a sudden two greatcandidates at one time who have run big stuff, who have made bigdecisions,” Cote, 60, said in an interview. “They fit very wellwith our overall board philosophy, which is to be independent andsupportive — and those two do go together.”

Lieblein, who was promoted in December to head of GM's worldwidepurchasing, said she was running the carmaker's Brazilianoperations when she was approached about the Honeywell position.Her first board meeting was Feb. 13.

It was the realization of a personal goal, the 52-year-oldexecutive said. A neighbor when she was based in Mexico City, aretired executive who served on a couple of U.S. boards,recommended a board seat to round out her career. A three-daycourse about women on corporate boards at the Kellogg School ofManagement in Chicago in May 2011 only whetted her appetite more,she said.

Adding Value

“It's interesting to see how another company runs its businessand how they face challenges,” Lieblein said. “I can add value,too. I've been in manufacturing, I've done product development,I've run Mexico and Brazil, so I think I bring something to thetable.”

Lieblein said GM CEO Dan Akerson, who has been a member of atleast a dozen boards over his career, sat down with her during ameeting in Brazil and gave her pointers for being a good director.Akerson also let Mary Barra — his manufacturing chief and amongpossible successors, according to people familiar with the thinking— join General Dynamics' board in 2011. The board opportunitiesmark a shift in GM strategy from past regimes, said Lieblein, whojoined the carmaker in 1978.

Last year, women held 17 percent of S&P 500 board seats, upone percentage point compared with 2007, according to SpencerStuart data. The number of new independent directors dropped to291, the smallest since 2001: out of about 5,300 seats, turnover islow.

Some male directors still aren't sold on the availability offemale candidates. About 45 percent of them said the lack ofqualified prospects explains the stagnation for women. Only 18percent of female board members agree, according to a surveyreleased in September by recruiter Heidrick & StrugglesInternational Inc., Harvard University and theWomenCorporateDirectors organization.

Attitudes must change, said William Lauder, chairman of NewYork-based cosmetics maker Estee Lauder Cos.

“If we don't break out of the cycle, then women won't get theopportunity,” said Lauder, whose company has seven femaledirectors, the most in the S&P 500. “It's identifying a personwho is a young rising star, and giving them an opportunity.”

Estee Lauder appointed Wei Sun Christianson, Morgan Stanley'shead of China, to its board in March of 2011. The company alsopermitted CFO Tracey Travis to stay on Campbell Soup Co.'s board and letGeorgia Garinois-Melenikiotou, senior vice president of marketing,become a Bacardi Corp. director.

CFOs Wanted

The financial meltdown has created a need for expertise on auditcommittees, a potential boon for women like Travis, 50, withfinancial jobs on their resumes, according to Lauder. In 2012, 17percent of new women directors were CFOs, an increase from 1percent in 2008, Spencer Stuart data show.

The boardroom gives heads of units governance experience,creating “more well-rounded executives,” Lauder said.

“They themselves run multi-billion organizations within amulti-multi-billion dollar organization,” he said. “They have allthe skills and experiences and they are almost de facto CEOs oftheir units.”

Other recent examples include marketing chiefs such as eBayInc.'s Richelle Parham, who joined Scripps Networks InteractiveInc.'s board last year, and Bank of America Corp.'s Anne Finucane,a CVS Caremark Corp. director since 2011. Also in 2011, HertzGlobal Holdings Inc. CFO Elyse Douglas joined Assurant Inc.'s board and Philip MorrisInternational Inc. added JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s head of India,Kalpana Morparia.

Becoming a director can also help prepare lower-level executivesfor the top job. The opportunity, long available to some men, isnow opening up for women too, said Janice Babiak, a former managingpartner at Ernst & Young LLP and now a director and auditcommittee member at Walgreen Co.

“What they would do with a man is say 'Well, he's going to beCEO someday, and he needs some board experience, so let's get himon a board somewhere,'” said Babiak, who mentors women seekingdirector positions. “At least it better prepared them.”

Of 153 women appointed to S&P 500 boards over the last twoyears, 39 were CEOs joining boards other than their own, accordingto data compiled by Bloomberg on the women's careers. The groupincluded 20 CFOs, nine unit presidents and five current or formerchief marketing officers.

A good example of a woman hired for her experience rather thanher title is Stephanie Tilenius, former vice president of globalstrategy at Google Inc. and a director at Coach Inc., saidDaum.

“You're not going to get the CEO of Google on your board,” shesaid. “Beth Comstock is probably a better addition to the Nikeboard than Jeff Immelt,” GE's chief executive.

'Guinea Pig'

Comstock, the only executive at GE serving on an outside board,is a self-described “guinea pig” for other managers. Immelt doesn'tserve on any corporate board.

“Historically, GE hasn't really allowed us on corporate boards,so I knew that was changing,” the 52-year-old executive said in aninterview. “Jeff wanted some of his senior executives to haveexposure to other leadership dynamics in other companies.”

Insight on how Nike develops new markets and uses technology arehelping with her own efforts at market development for GE. Exposureto a different corporate culture has also been beneficial, saidComstock, who has been a Nike director since 2011.

Nike CEO Mark Parker is “unlike many people I worked with GE,”she said. “He grew up in the design arena, he's an innovator, he'sa risk taker, in a meaningful way.”

“GE has so many great leadership strengths, largely inengineering culture,” Comstock said. “It's nice to see a differentstyle. I've been able to bring some great best practices back fromMark and even to say to Jeff '''Here's a way they thought aboutit.'”

Another impediment for women has been their early penetrationinto areas that are functional, such as human resources orcorporate council, versus operating jobs, said Babiak, the Walgreendirector.

“So you make it through the glass ceiling and you're stuck inthe glass room,” she said. “Women need to push to get the operatingroles.”

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg makes a similarpoint in her book “Lean In” offering advice to aspiring womenexecutives to be more assertive in business and push for higher payand more influential jobs. The Menlo Park, California-basedsocial-networking website appointed her as the first and only womanon its board in June after several months of pressure frominvestors.

GM's Barra, who worked in human resources, manufacturing andproduct development, said CEO Akerson encouraged her to take theboard seat at defense company General Dynamics.

“We don't want to be an inwardly focused company,” she said.“This is a way to get exposure to other senior leaders, anotherlayer of management and diversity of thought.”

The biggest obstacle women face remains their lack of previousboardroom experience, Spencer Stuart's Daum said.

“It's a catch 22,” Daum said. “If they have governanceexperience, then their dance card is full. You just don't need 12CEOs on your board.”

See Treasury & Risk's 2012 Women in Finance list.

Bloomberg News

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