As we ramp up for The Private Company Governance Summit 2026, which will take place June 10-12 in Washington, D.C., we are speaking to our panelists to get a bit of insight on the topics they will be discussing at the event. Today, we speak with Todd Schurz, fifth-generation owner and senior advisor of Schurz Communications, about the subject matter of “Who Belongs on Today’s Family and Private Company Board?” the session he will be participating in at PCGS 2026.
Private Company Director: Where can a board find directors who bring the skills they now need? And how do we know they will truly add value in the boardroom?
Schurz: My personal experience is that a good process is the best place to start to address these questions. You can source director candidates from many places. Our company contracted with Family Business Consulting Group to help fill our first independent director roles. Our most recent directors came from the networks of our directors, senior management and owners. Organizations I have been involved with have used Egon Zehnder and other search firms.
Knowing whether someone might add value to the board is really the key, as there are many qualified candidates. In many ways, we are matching the needs of the board and company with the skills and experiences of the directors. If you think of a board as a team, a new director should add skills needed for the future or ones that will be missing. Self-awareness and a board assessment can be quite helpful in identifying these needs, and a good prospectus will help attract the right candidates. We view the process as a mutual interview as the board’s governance committee and the candidates are assessing organizational fit, interpersonal skills and, most importantly, values alignment. After screening candidates that have been referred by outside firms or recommended by our networks, we do a virtual interview with multiple candidates. We then narrow the field to our finalists and invite them to in-person interviews with the governance committee and senior management. We also invite them to attend a board meeting so they can see how we operate. We have found this thorough and transparent process has served us very well. Let me add that this is an ongoing process, as the needs of the business, owners and board evolve.
To hear more from Todd Schurz, register today for The Private Company Governance Summit 2026.