Investors call time on non-execs

POWERFUL shareholders are calling time on non-executive directors who can hold up to ten boardroom posts and still work for only a few hours a month.

The National Association of Pension Funds wants non-executives to work at least one day a week per directorship, and for them to be drawn from a wider pool to eliminate allegations of back-scratching.

The shareholder group intends to demand an explanation if non-executive directors hold more than five boardroom jobs, even if they have no full-time posts.

This would put some of the new breed of professional non-executives, such as former Asda boss Allan Leighton, in the firing line. Leighton holds more than ten non-executive jobs.

And senior boardroom figures such as British Airways chairman Lord Marshall, a director of at least five other companies, would also be spotlighted.

David Gould, co-author of new guidelines to be launched at the NAPF's annual conference this week, said: 'One days' work a week is a realistic commitment for non-executives to get to know a business and to feel that they understand the issues affecting it. That implies no more than five posts, even for a full-time non-executive.'

It follows a traumatic period in boardrooms and a series of debacles, ranging from BT to Marconi, in which non-executives' roles have been criticised.

The NAPF, which will send copies of its guidelines to Britain's top 350 companies, admitted that its demands would almost certainly send nonexecutive pay through the roof.

Those now receiving £20,000 to £30,000 could see that treble.