Ferguson Partners analysis of 136 public REIT and real estate company boards
Ferguson Partners reviewed 136 public REIT and real estate company boards, covering 1,091 board seats, and compared them to our recommended board practices. Most boards are well built. They are the right size, and most have moved past the minimum on gender. But slow refreshment is holding back the mix of skills, experience, and perspectives in the boardroom.
REIT boards are close to best practice on size and structure. The gap is refreshment: directors stay longer, skew older, and come from a narrower set of backgrounds than the next decade will demand.
Key findings
- The structure is mostly right. 63% of boards have seven to nine directors, our recommended range, and 85% have two or more women.
- Tenure runs long. 57% of directors have served more than six years, against a target of about one-third. Only 27% joined in the last three years.
Boards skew older. The median director is 65. 14% are 75 or older, and only 6% are under 50. - Fewer sitting executives than ideal. 60% of seats have active executives, short of the two-thirds we recommend.
- The bench is narrow where it matters next. Boards are deep in real estate investors, CFOs, and capital markets leaders, but thin in technology, human capital, and public policy.
- Diversity has progressed, but not at the top. About 3 in 7 independent directors are women or ethnically diverse,* but only 11% of board chairs are women.
What this Means for boards
- Each open seat is a chance to close several gaps at once. A director who is a sitting executive, earlier in their career, and experienced in technology or talent moves tenure, age, the active mix, and skills in a single appointment. Boards that plan refreshment over several years, rather than one seat at a time, get there faster.
- Our recommended practices cover board size, active versus retired directors, diversity, tenure, industry expertise, and the leadership capabilities to assess in each director.
Download the full REIT Board Composition benchmark (PDF)
To discuss how your board compares, or to plan your next refreshment cycle, contact Bill Ferguson, Graham Beatty, or Mike Cordingley.
Methodology note:
Source: Ferguson Partners analysis of U.S.-listed REIT and real estate company boards (BoardEx, S&P Global, 2026 proxy statements), October 2026. *Estimated. Ethnic diversity is based on BoardEx network data and likely understates actual representation.