Shearman & Sterling LLP 37 | Board Refreshment
Term Limits
Six of the Top 100 Companies have adopted mandatory term limits for their
directors, a slight decrease from eight in 2020. The mandatory term limits apply
only to non-management directors at four of these companies. 66 of the
Top 100 Companies specifically state that term limits have not been adopted,
most citing the value of the insight and knowledge that directors who have
served for an extended period of time can provide about the company's business.
Many of these companies also state that periodic reviews by the board or a board
committee of each director's performance serve as an appropriate alternative
to mandatory term limits. Of the sixty-six Top 100 Companies that specifically
state that term limits have not been adopted, two adopted average tenure limits
of 10 years and one adopted an average tenure limit of nine years.
State that term limits should not be adopted
Do not address the topic of term limits
Have term limits ranging from 15 to 20 years
Have adopted average tenure limits instead
66
25
6
3
