A few years ago, Amazon came under fire after its Board opposed a shareholder proposal to increase its (the Board’s) diversity. The proposal would require the Board to consider women and minority candidates for director positions. However, the company’s communications representative 1 suggested that using such a policy, similar to the US Rooney Rule , might create a “check box” approach to diversity – and not produce real change. Even though Amazon eventually announced that it would adopt the shareholder diversity proposal, the uproar caught global attention, with people wondering what the prerequisites really should be for hiring and maintaining a high-functioning Board of directors.

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