- Rupal Shah Hollenbeck, former Oracle SVP and CMO, now sits on the board of Check Point Software Technologies.
- She landed the spot after creating a "board profile," which is similar to a resume or cover letter.
- One of her tips is to focus on one strong value you bring to the table and back it up with evidence.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
When Rupal Shah Hollenbeck, former senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Oracle, started looking for a seat on a board 18 months ago, she did what most first-time candidates do: She sent her resume to recruiters and board contacts.
But instead of getting offers, Hollenbeck said she was told that her resume was "one dimensional" and was encouraged to submit a "board profile" instead.
A board profile, much like a resume or cover letter, is a one-page document that highlights specific career experiences, accomplishments, and skills that show the unique value a candidate would bring to a board. It demonstrates you're a thought leader in your industry and can think beyond your operational day job, Shannon Gordon, CEO of theBoardlist, a group that connects highly qualified women and underrepresented minorities with opportunities to serve on private and public company boards, told Insider.
Most boards fill open seats with people they know through their personal networks, Gordon added — but with many pushing to find more diverse candidates, a strong board profile can help a company easily decipher whether an unknown candidate is right for the job.
In her role at Oracle, Hollenbeck often worked with the board, so she understood and appreciated the relationship between the board and management and the unique role boards play in building and supporting a company's strategy.
Crafting a board profile eventually paid off for Hollenbeck: She now sits on the board of Check Point Software Technologies, Ltd., a publicly-traded network security provider valued at around $16 billion, with annual revenues averaging $2 billion.
She walked Insider through the process of writing a profile and what worked in getting the board's attention.
She chose one strong value add — driving growth — and backed it up with evidence
Rather than cover everything she's done in her 25-year career, Hollenback boiled her experience down to one common theme: helping companies grow, drive revenue, and reach their customers in new markets.
Instead of providing lots of details about each operating role, Hollenbeck's board profile only focuses on credentials that would interest the type of board she hopes to serve on. For instance, even though Hollenbeck has received many awards and recognitions for her work over the years, she only mentions a few.
"An example is IoT," Hollenbeck said. "I have received a few recognitions in this space, but I don't bring this up unless familiarity with IoT is a requirement of that board or it's an IoT-related company.
To back up her ability to grow organizations, she mentioned how she's lived outside the United States, including living in China and Singapore for 15 years, opened new offices overseas, and been part of discussions related to every part of the customer journey.
She highlighted a professional passion outside her roles
Having determined that she's most passionate about advancing women in the workplace, Hollenbeck set out to apply to boards that valued this quality.
Meanwhile, she highlighted in her board profile her experience as a founding member of Neythri, a nonprofit focused on fostering, engaging, and advancing a global community of South Asian professional women, as well as several women's leadership courses she teaches.
"While you can pick all these elements out of my resume, they don't stand out as intentional," Hollenbeck said. "The board profile made these more intentional by highlighting my proven track record, explaining what I do now and identifying my passion points."
Gordon suggested other board candidates looking to emulate Hollenbeck focus on tasks they've completed repeatedly throughout their career that can be backed up with metrics, such as revenue growth or number of users.
Impact that's less measurable is also an important thing to highlight. For instance, perhaps you've taken three companies through an acquisition or integrated teams at the last four companies you've worked at. Hollenback mentioned in her board profile how she's led "cross-functional" teams in sales, marketing, business development, and operations.
Now that Hollenbeck's been named to a public board, she's looking for a seat on a private board and plans to tweak her board profile to reflect the type of company she hopes to advise — one looking to expand its global operations and that's focused on biotech, sustainability, or clean energy and climate.
The Link LonkMarch 02, 2021 at 10:21PM
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A former Oracle and Intel exec shares the 'board profile' she used to land a seat on the board of a $16 billion tech company - Business Insider
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