The well documented agency problem remains an ongoing debate, with the board as a
central point of corporate governance providing a control mechanism. The effective
composition and functioning of the board is therefore highlighted as being key to
overcoming agency-problems (Hermalin and Weisback, 2003; Adams and Ferreira, 2009).
This research report explores the relationship between the structural aspects of the board,
including the average age of board members, the size of the board of directors and the
specific positions women and ethnic persons hold on the board of South African listed
companies, and intellectual capital performance measured using VAIC™ (Pulic, 2000), as well
as market adjusted share returns. The population consists of all South African companies
listed on the JSE Securities Exchange during 2011 with the final sample consisting of 193
companies after transformation of the data.  The results of the regression analyses indicated
no significant relationship between intellectual capital performance and board size, or
specific positions being held by women or ethnic persons. A significant positive relationship
however exists between the average age of the board of directors and intellectual capital
performance. As a result, companies may be able to enhance their intellectual capital
performance by increasing the average age of their board members.