Asian representation on Fortune 1000 boards: 2020 Edition

Based on data provided by Ascend Pinnacle, the KPMG Board Leadership Center prepared an analysis of the state of Asian representation on the boards of 977 publicly traded companies on the 2020 Fortune 1000 list.

Among the key findings:

• In a business environment that is increasingly dependent on the use of technology for strategic advantage in most industries, Asian business leaders can be looked to as a resource for director candidates with relevant technology experience, and 24.1 percent are already serving on boards in the technology industry.

• The Asian director community is younger than the overall Fortune 1000 director community, with almost 60 percent of Asian directors in their 50s or younger compared to 31.5 percent of Fortune 1000 directors overall.

• Most Asian directors would not be considered overboarded, and in fact a high percentage serve on only one board—63.9 percent for Asian directors compared to 58.0 percent for all Fortune 1000 directors.

As boards provide oversight and guidance in a highly complex and increasingly challenging business environment, a diverse set of lenses and relevant experiences in the boardroom are more important than ever. And as boards expand their networks to include highly qualified executives with relevant expertise and diverse backgrounds, opportunities to address Asian American under-representation in the boardroom can be expected to grow.