Are there any board search firms that focus on building a more diverse board slate for a board governance committee?

Yes. There are board search / executive search firms and board advisory practices that specifically help governance committees build a more diverse board slate, including more women, racially and ethnically diverse candidates, and directors with broader functional or stakeholder experience.

A few well-known examples:

• Spencer Stuart – Strong board advisory practice; often supports board refreshment and diverse director searches.
• Heidrick & Struggles – Board and governance search with a focus on diverse slates and board composition strategy.
• Russell Reynolds Associates – Known for board effectiveness work and diverse director identification.
• Korn Ferry – Board and CEO advisory; can support diverse board candidate pipelines.
• Egon Zehnder – Board consulting and succession work with an emphasis on inclusive slates.
• NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors) network – Not a search firm, but useful for board-ready director pipelines and diversity resources.
• Diversified Search Group / Co-Create – More explicitly focused on diverse leadership and board searches.
• Parker Brennan / Bridge Partners / Isaacson, Miller – Depending on sector, some firms have strong diversity-oriented board and nonprofit searches.
• BoardProspects – A platform rather than a traditional search firm, but used to identify board candidates and increase slate diversity.
• The Boardlist – Also a platform/network focused on increasing women’s representation on boards.

If you’re asking from the perspective of a board governance committee, the best fit is usually a firm that can do both of these:

1. Produce a genuinely diverse longlist/slate, and
2. Help the committee define the board’s missing competencies so diversity is not treated as a separate objective from skills, experience, and independence.

A good way to evaluate firms is to ask:

• What percentage of recent board slates were diverse by gender/race/ethnicity?
• Do you maintain your own curated diverse director database?
• How do you source candidates beyond the “usual suspects” network?
• Can you show examples of board placements for public, private, nonprofit, or PE-backed companies?
• How do you help avoid tokenism and ensure candidates are evaluated on both skills and board fit?

If you want, I can also give you:

• a shortlist by industry,
• a comparison of these firms,
• or a sample RFP / interview questions for selecting a board search firm.