Shaping the Future: Why Your Voice Matters in the 2025 BCI Board Elections
From October 22nd to November 12th 2025, the BCI will hold board elections to fill three vacant seats. If you’re an AMBCI or above, and if you have demonstrated commitment through active volunteering within the BCI, we encourage you to step forward and shape the future of the institute. Nominations open September 17th and close on October 7th 2025!
Why nominations are vital to secure a representative board
A strong, representative board begins with nominations. Research[1] shows that boards with diverse representation are more effective in governance and strategic decision-making. This is because diverse boards reflect a range of opinions, ensuring decisions are informed by the full range of experiences within a community, including different ages, genders, neurodiversity, regional and cultural views. These differences bring a wider range of perspectives to the table, which leads to more rigorous discussions, more innovative problem-solving, and a broader understanding of global stakeholder needs. Diversity also enables boards to better reflect and respond to the communities and industries they serve. Every resilience professional has something to contribute to the board.
You can nominate yourself, or someone you know, if you have the interest and relevant skills. Don’t be shy or feel that you are not the right person. The BCI board needs diversity that reflects its global membership. If you don’t see yourself, your opinions, or your way of working currently represented, now is the time to change that.
Why you?
Potential candidates may feel that they are not experienced enough, have limited time to commit, or have not received encouragement to stand. This reluctance is particularly pronounced among younger professionals, women, and those from underrepresented minority backgrounds, but the community needs those quieter voices to stand because restrictive views, narrow responses, and no plurality in strategic, forward-thinking visions means the profession won’t evolve.
Professionals who hesitate to nominate themselves are often the ones who challenge norms and create the vital representation that is so important to the BCI and its leadership. A board role is not about having all the answers or decades of experience, it’s about contributing with professional authenticity, no matter what your length of experience, gender, age, nationality, or sector.
Board associate Jasmiina Rousu said:
“The future is what we make of it, hence it’s crucial that we bring the makers of the future together to plan for it. The world changes constantly and in order to ensure that the BCI does too, we need the variety of perspectives and fresh ideas from all around the membership brought to the board"
Boards need a wide range of skills
Board roles provide a platform to shape policies, initiatives, and the future direction of the BCI. To achieve this, a mix of strategic, technical and soft skills are required so board members can contribute broadly to the BCI’s strategy.
The skills and experience needed to be part of the board are as diverse as its membership, and nominees do not need years of experience in the sector.
To thrive, the board must include individuals with all types of modern, practical and soft skills.
This includes strategic skills like diverse thought processes, inclusive collaboration, advocates for change, listeners, and leaders from all walks of life, sectors, experiences, and age ranges. Professional skills like financial expertise, marketing, customer insight, governance, ESG experience, tech innovation, creativity, thinking outside the box, and business development are all valuable.
These skills could be developed in any global region or sector and gained through academic or practical applications. If you have these skills, or others that could strengthen the board, we encourage you to nominate yourself or someone you know.
What’s in it for you?
The BCI board needs your skills, but it also offers personal and professional rewards.
A seat on the board gains industry visibility, but it’s also a stepping stone to future leadership roles, whether in the boardroom or the C-suite. You’ll develop governance experience and strategic thinking skills, which demonstrate your readiness to operate at a strategic level. You’ll also form high-level stakeholder engagement and soft skills, which BCI research[2] shows are capabilities that the resilience sector is actively searching for as we head towards 2030 and beyond.
Get ready to nominate
We encourage all eligible members to play their part in creating a board that’s inclusive and mirrors the diversity of our profession.
You can nominate yourself or another resilience professional. Sometimes, all it takes is a word of encouragement. If you know someone who would make a great leader, let them know. Nominate them. Support them. Your encouragement could be key to building a forward-looking BCI for the future. Follow the link below to learn more.
[1] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-matters-even-more-the-case-for-holistic-impact
[2] https://www.thebci.org/resource/bci-resilience-vision-2030-report-.html
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