Frankfurt am Main – November 09, 2026 -- 64% of MDAX companies appointed at least one new supervisory board member, against 25% in the DAX40, according to the first standalone MDAX governance report from executive search firm Spencer Stuart.
The 50 MDAX companies added 87 new board members. The DAX40 added only 16. The study draws on annual reports and corporate governance disclosures for fiscal 2025. It is benchmarked against the Spencer Stuart Board Index 2026 for the DAX40, published in June.
MDAX boards are younger and open the door to first-time members
Members under 50 make up 21.8% of MDAX supervisory boards, versus 12% in the DAX40. At 22 of the 50 companies, that age group holds more than a quarter of board seats. Of the newly appointed MDAX members, 23% hold their first supervisory board mandate.
Spencer Stuart links the turnover to pressure on mid-sized listed companies from economic volatility, geopolitical shifts and supply chain disruption. Lars Gollenia, head of the firm's board and CEO practice, argues that too little change, not too much, is the bigger risk for boards. He says the strongest boards combine institutional knowledge with new perspectives.
Women hold 37% of MDAX board seats but only three chair roles
The gender gap between the indices is small: women hold 37% of MDAX supervisory board seats and 39% in the DAX40. Leadership is a different picture. Only three of the 50 MDAX companies have a female supervisory board chair, against four in the DAX40.
Andrea Mohnsame, managing director of Spencer Stuart Germany and Austria, says diversity depends on who leads key committees and shapes the agenda, not only on who sits on the board. The firm says the challenge has moved from representation to influence.
Only 8% of MDAX companies run a technology committee
Dedicated technology committees exist at 8% of MDAX companies, compared with 23% in the DAX40. Strategy committees are also less common, at 14% against 23%.
Industry backgrounds account for 42% of professional profiles on MDAX boards, versus 31% in the DAX40. Spencer Stuart calls this a strength but says it must be complemented by expertise in technology, AI, cybersecurity and geopolitical resilience. AI in particular is changing the requirements for board composition.
Gollenia says succession planning should start from what the company will need in the coming years, not from whom to replace. Spencer Stuart advises companies to treat board development as a continuous strategic task rather than a response to individual vacancies.