New platform ranks NZX directors by performance and reputation

A new online platform has been launched to rank the performance of professional directors on NZX-listed boards.

Developed by data analytics consultancy Datamine, The Boardroom Table measures how directors influence both financial performance and reputational standing of the companies they govern. The rankings are publicly available and will be updated monthly.

“What we are trying to do is measure how much of a difference individual directors make to the performance and the reputation of the companies they help govern,” says Matt Wilkins, a partner at Datamine.

The rankings are based on around 200 publicly available data points, covering two categories:

• • Financial metrics, including market capitalisation, revenue, share price and shareholder returns
  • Reputational indicators, derived from sentiment analysis of media coverage, employee reviews and customer feedback.

To qualify, directors must hold at least two NZX directorships – either two current roles, or one current and one held in the past 12 months. This allows Datamine to establish a signal between a director’s tenure and company performance.

Each director is assessed from the time they join a board. An adjustment period is built into the model to account for a reasonable period of influence.

Wilkins says The Boardroom Table is designed to strengthen accountability and recognise directors who genuinely move the needle.

“We are not celebrating or critiquing inherited success,” he says. “We are saying that during their tenure, this is how the business has tracked.

“By making performance data transparent, we’re empowering directors and boards to make more informed decisions and lift governance standards across the boardroom.”

The data is presented in a league table, ranking just over 80 directors from highest to lowest based on the relative change in company performance and sentiment during their tenure.

“At the top, you have a director who has demonstrated the largest relative impact across those key metrics. At the bottom of the list is the director who has had the least impact,” says Wilkins.

All data is drawn from public sources. Wilkins says the model has been tested with governance professionals and stakeholders in the boardroom space but did not confirm whether any of the ranked directors were directly consulted.

To be included in The Boardroom Table, companies must be:

• • Listed on the New Zealand Exchange (NZX)
  • Publicly listed in New Zealand (dual listings permitted)
  • An equity instrument
  • Actively engaged in business activities

Companies excluded from The Boardroom Table:

• • Primarily listed overseas, including international holding companies
  • Privately traded
  • Trusts, funds or ETFs
  • Inactive in business activities

Pip Greenwood CMInstD, Chair of Westpac New Zealand and The a2 Milk Company, comes out on top in the first rankings.

The platform launched today and is available at datamine.com/theboardroomtable.