Transport For London: Helping TFL Build A Board That Reflects The People Of London

Transport for London (TfL) serves an incredibly diverse city. But back in 2015, the organisation’s leaders were mainly white and male. A key review said TfL’s Board needed to be more representative of London’s demographics, so in 2016, Green Park helped TfL recruit 10 new, diverse leaders. Of those chosen, half were female, a third were BAME and one was disabled. This substantial shift had the potential to give the Board a more relevant perspective. 

• Green Park helped Tfl change its Board to reflect the diversity of London
• TfL recruited 10 new leaders to meet the requirements of a key review
• Candidates were found by accessing Green Park’s extensive network of diverse, Board-level talent

The challenge

Deloitte’s 2015 Independent Board Effectiveness Review contained some important findings. The first was that TfL’s board needed to be more representative of London demographics, especially in terms of ethnicity and gender. Secondly, the Board needed people with particular skills and expertise: in digital technology, urban space planning, train engineering and manufacturing; treasury and government funding; health and safety, and change management. Of particular importance were recommendations for the board to expand their stewardship role and provide more strategic guidance.

In summer 2016, Green Park was awarded the contract to help the Greater London Authority (GLA) and TfL appoint 10 members for the TfL board.

Our project

Refreshing the Board involved an interesting dual challenge. Not only did candidates need the requisite breadth of board-level experience and the depth of specialist expertise, they also had to increase gender, ethnicity and disability representation. Green Park therefore looked to leverage its networks of BME, female and disabled candidates with senior or board-level experience across public and private sectors, who operated in large-scale, complex, national and international organisations.

Given the nature of the relationship between the GLA and TfL, it was important to ensure that all stakeholders were consulted before agreeing the target list. Green Park therefore undertook a comprehensive consultation exercise, involving face-to-face meetings and telephone conversations. This gave key individuals the opportunity to express their views and give, where appropriate, the names of individuals they wished to be included in the search.

As a result of this exercise, Green Park focused its search on attracting individuals from industries such as financial services, retail, fast-moving consumer goods, construction, infrastructure and technology (including more entrepreneurial start-ups) as well as high-profile individuals in local, regional and central government.

The results

Green Park produced a strong shortlist of 24 candidates, of which 39 per cent were BAME, 52 per cent were female and 12 per cent were disabled. The shortlist was then taken forward to final interview with a panel chaired by the Deputy Mayor for Transport. Ten candidates were selected, with a number of others earmarked as potential future board members. Of the ten selected, half were female, a third were BAME and one individual was disabled. This represents a significant shift in diversity from the previous board, which – with a couple of notable exceptions – were predominately white males.

The depth of Green Park’s diversity networks, which allowed fast access to board-level, diverse talent, proved crucial to the success of this campaign. Also vital was the significant time and resource given to the campaign by senior members of the Green Park team. This ensured a high-touch approach to both client and candidate management.

As a result of the success of this campaign, Green Park was chosen to work with TfL and the Mayor on the appointment of the new commissioner for walking and cycling.

Take the next steps:

Find out more about Green Park’s Executive Search Practice

Learn more about our Transport and/or Government teams