for generational equality”

Here is his platform: “We often talk about the gender mix, the diversity of profiles present on a board of directors, but too little representation of the generations. Our world is changing too rapidly for us to ignore the new generations. Collegiality presupposes diversity!

The average administrator in France is over 60 years old

According to the French Institute of Administration (Ifa), only 4% of directors are under 40, with the average age being higher among men. In fact, 70% of male directors are between 50 and 70 years old, while 75% of female directors are between 40 and 60 years old. What a disconnect with the tech moguls, who started their business at 31 and have proven their ability to run a hyper-growth business.

Why rejuvenate advice?

There are many reasons young leaders should join a board. Boards of directors can benefit from the fresh perspective and energy that young people bring. Young filmmakers belong to the new world and can help bridge the generation gap. They offer a fresh point of view, which can be useful for companies wondering how to adapt to rapid changes: employer brand, CSR, new technologies (metaverse, AI, blockchain, etc.).

But let’s go even further: these young people to be placed on the boards are the ones that organizations must now attract, retain and integrate into their organizations. These young people are also the new customers of companies, who have different expectations and codes than previous generations. They are also more tech-savvy and can offer insights into using digital channels to reach younger consumers.

If a board of directors is made up of several stakeholders, it is precisely to be able to challenge each other, enrich themselves with the ideas of others, or even contradict each other. The main pitfall of aging administrators is seeing the emergence of a uniformity of ideas and points of view, inherent in intragenerational recruitment, and moreover often operating in the same social “caste”, in the same educational mold.

This self-segregation risks creating a ferment of ideas and too slow an adaptation to the world and the economy. The fact of counting only on administrators who are foreign to the new world, which in any case has emerged before our eyes and in our homes for 30 years, can only be a source of strategic misunderstandings and inopportune decisions. From large retailers to the automotive industry, there are too many examples of global giants whose feet have become clay, not due to poor management of the existing ones, but due to decision-making reluctance and lack of train towards new uses. And in life as in the economy, lost time can never be made up for…

Young people, at all costs?

They are often criticized for being immaturity or impetuous. But their impertinence allows you to report what’s not working in the organization, without filters. Diversity does not mean non-selection. It is obvious that choosing a younger and less experienced director can be risky, because her CV does not speak for itself. It is more difficult to assess its relevance, its potential contribution. Hence a search for the right candidate certainly less easy than for previous generations. But this same pitfall was already encountered when gender equality was introduced.

At the risk of immaturity, at the risk of obsolescence. The idea is not to replace the elders, but to integrate their views on the new generation to create councils representative of the generations of our world. »