About the Awards

The recipient of the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award will be selected on the basis of distinguished service on public, private, and/or nonprofit boards over an extended period of time. He or she should be a career-long model of the four standards of exemplary director professionalism, as outlined below, and may be either a current or a retired director. 

In addition, a nominee should demonstrate dedication to the improvement of corporate governance practices, as evidenced by a reputation among peers and in the business community for excellent leadership. His or her exceptional achievements should have an impact that is visible in boardrooms today.

This award honors the memory of NACD’s former Chairman B. Kenneth West, who died May 13, 2006, at the age of 72. At NACD’s 2005 annual Summit, Ken was presented a plaque inscribed with the following words:

An organization dedicated to governance must itself be well governed.

With great appreciation for his wisdom, experience, and integrity, the National Association of Corporate Directors hereby honors

B. Kenneth West
For his calm leadership
For his visionary guidance
For his intellectual rigor
For his wise stewardship

For his faithful service as
Chairman of the Board
2001 – 2005

Ken embodied the qualities of director professionalism, as should the person who receives the award named in his honor.

Before submitting your nomination, we encourage you to review the Directorship 100 Nomination Guide for detailed criteria, requirements, and tips to help you complete a strong submission.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

A nomination package must include the following required elements to be considered for selection committee review:  

• completed nomination form 
• biography 
• minimum of three letters of recommendation 

Letters of Recommendation 

Nominees for the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award require a minimum of three letters of recommendations and/or testimonials from board peers and colleagues. It is the responsibility of the individual or organization submitting the nomination to arrange for the letters of recommendation to be submitted to NACD. Letters of recommendation from other board members and executives who have served with the individual are weighted most heavily in the selection process.   Letters do not have to be from the same company/organization and may include a variety of perspectives from different periods of service and different boards.  It is common for nominations to include more than three letters of recommendation to demonstrate the breadth of service and impact.  

The nomination content should describe the candidate's attributes and achievements and provide detail into how the nominee exemplifies the principles of director professionalism: integrity, mature confidence, informed judgment, and high-performance standards. Nominations for the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award should endeavor to illuminate the full scope of achievements throughout the nominee’s board career.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a nomination

The NACD Directorship 100 B. K. West Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes corporate directors whose sustained contributions over the course of their careers have exemplified excellence in governance and left a lasting imprint on board leadership, effectiveness, and the broader governance community. Honorees demonstrate a legacy of forward-looking stewardship, principled leadership, and enduring influence across multiple boards and organizations.  

These individuals exemplify NACD’s longstanding expectations of integrity, informed judgment, mature confidence, and high-performance standards while helping boards navigate an increasingly complex governance environment and demonstrating future readiness.  

Nominees should demonstrate excellence in the following areas:

Demonstrated Boardroom Impact  

Nominees should reflect a body of work that, over time, has meaningfully strengthened governance oversight, strategic direction, and organizational resilience across the boards (public, private and/or nonprofit) they have served.  

Examples  

• strengthening board oversight frameworks across multiple organizations  
• guiding boards through periods of significant strategic transformation or inflection points  
• advancing oversight of emerging risks, including technology, cybersecurity, and AI  
• elevating executive compensation practices and governance standards  
• strengthening enterprise risk oversight and regulatory readiness across evolving environments  
• shaping thoughtful and effective CEO succession practices  
• enhancing boardroom culture, decision-making processes, and overall board effectiveness  

Governance Influence and Modernization    

Nominees should demonstrate a sustained ability to strengthen governance practices and influence how board oversight evolved to address emerging challenges across the course of their board careers. Highlights may reference how directors have helped modernize governance frameworks, shape oversight practices, and contribute to the broader advancement of board leadership and the profession of directorship.  

Examples  

• strengthening oversight of emerging risks and integrating them into enduring governance practices  
• modernizing governance structures, frameworks, or committee design to improve board effectiveness  
• elevating boardroom culture, decision-making quality, and the CEO–board interface  
• advancing long-term value creation through disciplined capital allocation and strategic oversight  
• enhancing transparency, information flow, and insight quality for stronger board decisions  
• influencing governance practices at scale through thought leadership, mentorship, or ecosystem engagement  
• anticipating and shaping governance responses to evolving stakeholder expectations, regulatory environments, or public scrutiny  

Director Leadership & Governance Credibility    

Nominees should demonstrate a recognized stature as a corporate director, earning the respect of peers and executives for their ethical leadership, sound judgment across complex governance matters, and confident, steady presence in the boardroom.  

Distinguished candidates uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability, exercise informed judgment in strategic and governance decisions, facilitate meaningful and constructive board dialogue with mature confidence, and model high-performance standards in board preparation, engagement, and oversight.  

Examples 

• exhibiting courage and leadership under duress, doing what is best for the corporation and its shareholders in the face of countervailing pressures inside or outside the boardroom  
• having a track record for actions that have guided their company in maintaining consistent, long-term profitability, pursuing significant business opportunities, improving shareholder returns, and/or dealing effectively with a crisis or other major change  
• valuing board and team performance over individual performance, keeping ego in check  
• fostering an environment of constant improvement of strategic goals, performance, and innovation  

We invite you to submit nominations that thoughtfully reflect the depth of impact and leadership this recognition is designed to honor. Nominators should be prepared to assemble a complete and well-supported submission, including a bio, a formal nomination statement, responses to the categories of excellence outlined above, and a minimum of three peer letters of recommendation. To help you put forward the strongest possible nomination, we encourage you to download the nomination guide for additional details and instruction prior to beginning your nomination on our nomination platform. 

Review Nomination guide

Submit a nomination

Disclaimers:  

Nominators should carefully consider which category (either Director of the Year or B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award) would be the most appropriate based upon the candidate's level of involvement, term, and achievements with each organization represented; however, NACD reserves the right to move nominees between categories if they are eligible to be considered in more than one category. A director may win an honor in only one category in the year of nomination but may be re-nominated for another award in subsequent years if the nominee has not been honored in that respective category.

Only nominees who have not previously won this honor will be considered.   

NACD Chapter Director of the Year honorees, as well as NACD chapter leaders and board members, are eligible to be included as peer nominated candidates for these awards, and the same nomination requirements will apply to those candidates.  

Exclusions: NACD board members of the 501c3 and 501c6 boards are ineligible for nomination for any NACD Directorship 100 category.

NACD forms an external selection committee for the purpose of reviewing the slate of candidates for the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award and Directors of the Year awards. The committee consists of individuals who have experience and knowledge of the responsibilities of directors and governance professionals in their specific category and possess significant knowledge of corporate governance practices and issues. Independence and diversity of thought and experience are priorities when considering potential committee members. The selection committee is populated with previous Director of the Year and B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award honorees who understand the nature of the awards and their criteria. The annual list of potential selection committee members is initially vetted and approved by NACD senior staff with oversight for the NACD Directorship 100 Awards program team.  

All Directorship 100 candidates are vetted and scored based on the qualitative and quantitative merit of the selection criteria demonstrated in the completed nominations. Vetted nominations then escalate to the NACD senior leadership team. For the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award and Directors of the Year, selection committee members are then presented with the primary list of candidates, as well as expanded biographies, nomination statements, and supporting letters and evidence for each nominee. The selection committee members carefully review each of the comprehensive candidate profiles for nominees within each category, participate in committee meetings to discuss candidate qualifications, selections, and make their final recommendation for the recipients of the awards and runners-up. They agree to complete confidentiality throughout the process.  

Selected honorees are submitted to the NACD board for final review and may be subject to candidate verification and legal disclosure approvals. The winners are subsequently finalized and announced.

Before submitting your nomination, we encourage you to review the Directorship 100 Nomination Guide for detailed criteria, requirements, and tips to help you complete a strong submission.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

Each year since 1987, NACD has awarded a Director of the Year honor to a public company director whose recent board service exemplifies the knowledge, leadership, and excellence in corporate governance that our organization promotes. In 2020, NACD introduced three distinct Director of the Year categories: Public Company, Private Company, and Nonprofit.

Before submitting your nomination, we encourage you to review the Directorship 100 Nomination Guide for detailed criteria, requirements, and tips to help you complete a strong submission.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a nomination

A nomination package must include the following required elements to be considered for selection committee review:   

• completed nomination form  
• biography  
• minimum of three letters of recommendation  

Letters of Recommendation  

Nominees for Directors of the Year require a minimum of three letters of recommendation and/or testimonials from board peers and colleagues. It is the responsibility of the individual or organization submitting the nomination to arrange for the letters of recommendation to be submitted to NACD. Letters of recommendation from other board members and executives who have served with the individual are weighted most heavily in the selection process. Letters do not have to be from the same company/organization and may include a variety of perspectives from different boards. It is common for nominations to include more than three letters of recommendation to demonstrate the breadth of service and impact.  

The nomination content should describe the candidate’s attributes and achievements and provide detail on how the nominee exemplifies the principles of director professionalism: integrity, mature confidence, informed judgment, and high-performance standards.  

Nominations for Director of the Year should focus on the nominee’s recent boardroom impact (ideally within the past 24 months), with particular emphasis on forward-looking governance leadership and measurable contributions to board effectiveness. Submissions should also reflect the nominee’s ability to influence governance practices, strengthen oversight of emerging challenges, and demonstrate recognized leadership and credibility in the boardroom.  

Public Company Director of the Year candidates are required to serve as non-executive chair, lead director, or committee chair of a public company board at the time of nomination. This qualification does not apply to the Private Company or Nonprofit Director of the Year categories.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

The NACD Directorship 100 Public, Private and Nonprofit Director of the Year categories recognize corporate directors whose recent boardroom impact (ideally within the past 24 months) demonstrates forward-looking governance leadership and measurable influence on board effectiveness.  

These individuals exemplify NACD’s longstanding expectations of integrity, informed judgment, mature confidence, and high-performance standards while helping boards navigate an increasingly complex governance environment.  

Public Company Director of the Year candidates are required to serve as non-executive chair, lead director, or committee chair of a public company board at the time of nomination. This qualification does not apply to the Private Company or Nonprofit Director of the Year categories.   

Nominees should demonstrate excellence in the following areas:

Demonstrated Boardroom Impact   

Nominees should demonstrate recent board-level contributions that materially strengthened governance oversight, strategy, or organizational resilience (ideally within the past 24 months.)  

Examples 

• strengthening board oversight frameworks across multiple organizations  
• guiding boards through periods of significant strategic transformation or inflection points  
• advancing oversight of emerging risks, including technology, cybersecurity, and AI  
• elevating executive compensation practices and governance standards  
• strengthening enterprise risk oversight and regulatory readiness across evolving environments  
• shaping thoughtful and effective CEO succession practices  
• enhancing boardroom culture, decision-making processes, and overall board effectiveness    

Governance Influence and Modernization   

Nominees should demonstrate the ability to strengthen governance practices and influence how boards oversee emerging challenges. Highlights may reference how directors have helped modernize governance frameworks, shape oversight practices, and contribute to the broader advancement of board leadership and the profession of directorship.  

Examples  

• Strengthening oversight of emerging risks and integrating them into enduring governance practices   
• Modernizing governance structures, frameworks, or committee design to improve board effectiveness   
• Elevating boardroom culture, decision-making quality, and the CEO–board interface   
• Advancing long-term value creation through disciplined capital allocation and strategic oversight  
• Enhancing transparency, information flow, and insight quality for stronger board decisions   
• Influencing governance practices at scale through thought leadership, mentorship, or ecosystem engagement  
• Anticipating and shaping governance responses to evolving stakeholder expectations, regulatory environments, or public scrutiny  

Director Leadership & Governance Credibility   

Nominees should demonstrate a recognized stature as a corporate director, earning the respect of peers and executives for their ethical leadership, sound judgment across complex governance matters, and confident, steady presence in the boardroom.   

Distinguished candidates uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability, exercise informed judgment in strategic and governance decisions, facilitate meaningful and constructive board dialogue with mature confidence, and model high-performance standards in board preparation, engagement, and oversight.  

Examples 

• exhibiting courage and leadership under duress, doing what is best for the corporation and its shareholders in the face of countervailing pressures inside or outside the boardroom  
• having a track record for actions that have guided their company in maintaining consistent, long-term profitability, pursuing significant business opportunities, improving shareholder returns, and/or dealing effectively with a crisis or other major change  
• valuing board and team performance over individual performance, keeping ego in check  
• fostering an environment of constant improvement of strategic goals, performance, and innovation  

We invite you to submit nominations that thoughtfully reflect the depth of impact and leadership this recognition is designed to honor. Nominators should be prepared to assemble a complete and well-supported submission, including a bio, a formal nomination statement, responses to the categories of excellence outlined above, and a minimum of three peer letters of recommendation. To help you put forward the strongest possible nomination, we encourage you to download the nomination guide for additional details and instruction prior to beginning your nomination on our nomination platform.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

Disclaimers:    

Nominators should carefully consider which category (either Director of the Year or B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award) would be the most appropriate based upon the candidate's level of involvement, term, and achievements with each organization represented; however, NACD reserves the right to move nominees between categories if they are eligible to be considered in more than one category. A director may win an honor in only one category in the year of nomination but may be re-nominated for another award in subsequent years if the nominee has not been honored in that respective category.  

Only nominees who have not previously won this honor will be considered.   

NACD Chapter Director of the Year honorees, as well as NACD chapter leaders and board members, are eligible to be included as peer nominated candidates for these awards, and the same nomination requirements will apply to those candidates.  

Exclusions: NACD board members of the 501c3 and 501c6 boards are ineligible for nomination for any NACD Directorship 100 category.

NACD forms an external selection committee for the purpose of reviewing the slate of candidates for the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award and Directors of the Year awards. The committee consists of individuals who have experience and knowledge of the responsibilities of directors and governance professionals in their specific category and possess significant knowledge of corporate governance practices and issues. Independence and diversity of thought and experience are priorities when considering potential committee members. The selection committee is populated with previous Director of the Year and B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award honorees who understand the nature of the awards and their criteria. The annual list of potential selection committee members is initially vetted and approved by NACD senior staff with oversight for the NACD Directorship 100 Awards program team.  

All Directorship 100 candidates are vetted and scored based on the qualitative and quantitative merit of the selection criteria demonstrated in the completed nominations, then escalate to the NACD senior leadership team. For the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award and Directors of the Year, selection committee members are then presented with the primary list of candidates, as well as expanded biographies, nomination statements, and supporting letters and evidence for each nominee. The selection committee members carefully review each of the comprehensive candidate profiles for nominees within each category, participate in committee meetings to discuss candidate qualifications, selections, and make their final recommendation for the recipients of the awards and runners-up. They agree to complete confidentiality throughout the process.  

Selected honorees are submitted to the NACD board for final review and may be subject to candidate verification and legal disclosure approvals. The winners are subsequently finalized and announced.

Before submitting your nomination, we encourage you to review the Directorship 100 Nomination Guide for detailed criteria, requirements, and tips to help you complete a strong submission.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

Since 2007, the NACD Directorship 100 has sought to identify the most influential people in the boardroom and in corporate governance. The 2025 NACD Directorship 100 will comprise 100 directors and governance professionals who exemplify the knowledge, leadership, and excellence that NACD promotes.

Before submitting your nomination, we encourage you to review the Directorship 100 Nomination Guide for detailed criteria, requirements, and tips to help you complete a strong submission.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

The NACD Directorship 100 Director category honors corporate directors whose recent boardroom impact (ideally within the past 24 months) reflects forward-looking governance leadership and measurable influence on board effectiveness. Nominees—ideally submitted by a peer—are selected based on criteria aligned with NACD’s standards of director professionalism and must serve on at least one public, private, or nonprofit board. These distinguished directors are recognized for exemplifying integrity, informed judgment, mature confidence, and high-performance standards, while helping boards navigate an increasingly complex and evolving governance landscape.  

Nominees should demonstrate excellence in the following areas:

Demonstrated Boardroom Impact   

Nominees should demonstrate recent board-level contributions that materially strengthened governance oversight, strategy, or organizational resilience (ideally within the past 24 months.)  

Examples 

• strengthening board oversight frameworks 
• guiding boards through major strategic transformation  
• advancing cyber, technology, or AI oversight  
• improving executive compensation governance  
• strengthening risk oversight or regulatory readiness  
• improving CEO succession oversight  
• enhancing board decision-making processes

Governance Influence and Modernization   

Nominees should demonstrate the ability to strengthen governance practices and influence how boards oversee emerging challenges. This category evaluates how directors help boards modernize governance frameworks and advance oversight practices.  

Examples  

• modernizing board governance structures or committee oversight  
• strengthening oversight of emerging risks (AI, cyber, geopolitical risk)  
  improving capital allocation oversight  
• strengthening board culture and governance processes  
• contributing to governance dialogue through NACD engagement, thought leadership, or mentoring  

Director Leadership & Governance Credibility   

Nominees should demonstrate recognized stature as a corporate director and be respected for their ethical leadership, informed judgment across complex governance matters, and mature confidence in advising boards and executives.  

Directors in this category:  

• uphold the highest standards of integrity and boardroom accountability  
• exercise informed judgment in complex strategic or governance matters  
• demonstrate mature confidence in facilitating board dialogue  
• maintain high-performance standards in board preparation and engagement  

Examples 

• exhibiting courage and leadership under duress, doing what is best for the corporation and its shareholders in the face of countervailing pressures inside or outside the boardroom  
• having a track record for actions that have guided their company in maintaining consistent, long-term profitability, pursuing significant business opportunities, improving shareholder returns, and/or dealing effectively with a crisis or other major change  
• valuing board and team performance over individual performance, keeping ego in check  
• fostering an environment of constant improvement of strategic goals, performance, and innovation  

We invite you to submit nominations that thoughtfully reflect the impact and leadership this recognition is designed to honor. Nominators should be prepared to assemble a complete and well-supported submission, including a formal nomination statement. To help you put forward the strongest possible nomination, we encourage you to download the nomination guide for additional guidance and insight prior to beginning your nomination.   

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

This award recognizes forward-thinking governance professionals and board-facing executives who have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing corporate governance practices and strengthening board oversight and future readiness. Through their work, they serve as trusted advisors to boards and executives, contributing to stronger, more effective governance across organizations and the broader governance ecosystem.  

Nominees may include:  

• governance advisors and consultants  
• corporate secretaries and governance officers  
• board-facing executives  
• senior leaders responsible for governance-relevant functions (e.g., legal, risk, cyber, human capital, compliance, public policy)  
• leading academia in governance ecosystem  

Nominees should demonstrate excellence in the following areas:  

Meaningful Governance Impact: Recent contributions that strengthened governance practices or board oversight (ideally within the past 24–36 months).  

Examples 

• modernizing board governance structures in shifting landscapes  
• supporting robust board evaluation and board and CEO succession  
• strengthening board risk oversight frameworks  
• advancing cyber, technology, or AI governance  
• improving executive compensation governance  
• supporting board decision-making during strategic change or risk events    

Influence on Governance Practices: the ability to influence governance practices and support effective board leadership.  

Examples 

• advising boards or board committees  
• shaping governance frameworks or policies  
• advancing governance modernization  
• contributing to industry governance dialogue or policy discussions    

Professional Leadership and Governance Expertise: They have recognized expertise and leadership within the governance profession and are respected for their ethical leadership, informed judgment across complex governance matters, and mature confidence in advising boards and executives. They are viewed by peers as trusted advisors who contribute constructively within the evolving governance ecosystem.  

Examples  

• leadership of governance-relevant functions or advisory practices  
• governance credentials or professional recognition  
• publications, speaking engagements, or governance thought leadership  
• peer recognition as a trusted advisor to boards or governance leaders  

We invite you to submit nominations that thoughtfully reflect the impact and leadership this recognition is designed to honor. Nominators should be prepared to assemble a complete and well-supported submission, including a formal nomination statement.   

To help you put forward the strongest possible nomination, we encourage you to download the nomination guide for additional guidance and insight prior to beginning your nomination.  

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination

Exclusions:  NACD board members of the 501c3 and 501c6 boards are ineligible for nomination for any NACD Directorship 100 category.

NACD forms an external selection committee for the purpose of reviewing the slate of candidates for the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award and Directors of the Year awards. The committee consists of individuals who have experience and knowledge of the responsibilities of directors and governance professionals in their specific category and possess significant knowledge of corporate governance practices and issues. Independence and diversity of thought and experience are priorities when considering potential committee members. The selection committee is populated with previous Director of the Year and B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award honorees who understand the nature of the awards and their criteria. The annual list of potential selection committee members is initially vetted and approved by NACD senior staff with oversight for the NACD Directorship 100 Awards program team.  
 
All Directorship 100 candidates are vetted and scored based on the qualitative and quantitative merit of the selection criteria demonstrated in the completed nominations. Vetted nominations then escalate to the NACD senior leadership team. For the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award and Directors of the Year, selection committee members are then presented with the primary list of candidates, as well as expanded biographies, nomination statements, and supporting letters and evidence for each nominee. The selection committee members carefully review each of the comprehensive candidate profiles for nominees within each category, participate in committee meetings to discuss candidate qualifications, selections, and make their final recommendation for the recipients of the awards and runners-up. They agree to complete confidentiality throughout the process.  

Selected honorees are submitted to the NACD board for final review and may be subject to candidate verification and legal disclosure approvals. The winners are subsequently finalized and announced. 

Before submitting your nomination, we encourage you to review the Directorship 100 Nomination Guide for detailed criteria, requirements, and tips to help you complete a strong submission.

Review Nomination Guide

Submit a Nomination