Break into the Boardroom (BiB)

What Break into the Boardroom (BiB) does

Break into the Boardroom (BiB) was a collaborative initiative founded in 2015 by Deerfield Management and Oxeon, later joined by Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe (WCAS) and Advancium Health Network as Legacy Sponsors. The program cultivated executive women as board candidates for the healthcare sector, connecting healthcare organizations seeking gender-diverse board composition (across biotech, pharma, medtech, payor, provider, and HCIT verticals) with a network of 375+ high-performing female executives holding C-suite credentials including CFO, CEO, and other senior roles. Over its ten-year operation, BiB facilitated 150+ board placements and provided candidates with confidence-building programming, networking events, and direct pathways to board opportunities. The service was provided at no cost to both organizations filling board roles and female executives seeking positions, funded entirely by the Legacy Sponsors.

BiB operated through a non-commercial, community-led model rather than a technology platform. The organization used a website-based inquiry form for organizations to submit board search requests, LinkedIn for brand presence, and in-person events for candidate-organization matching. Co-founders Leslie Henshaw (Partner at Deerfield Management) and Mia Jung (Talent Partner & Co-Head of Diversity and Inclusion at WCAS) led the program, with no disclosed equity structure, no funding rounds, and no revenue figures. The program is explicitly characterized as a "legacy program" rather than a standalone legal entity or commercial company.

In Fall 2025, after a decade of operation, BiB's founders made the strategic decision to restructure, with each Legacy Sponsor (Deerfield, Oxeon, WCAS) assuming independent management of successor boardroom initiatives. The BiB website became "statically passive," accepting only inbound inquiries from organizations and redirecting individuals to contacts at each former sponsor. Advancium Health Network was removed as a Legacy Sponsor. Operating status remains technically active in a limited, redirected mode, but the unified collaborative brand structure has effectively ended, with each sponsor now pursuing independent programs such as Oxeon's Bridge initiative.

Name

Break into the Boardroom (BiB)

Legal name

Break into the Boardroom

Website

https://breakintotheboardroom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Break into the Boardroom (BiB) was a healthcare-focused board placement initiative that connected 375+ pre-vetted female executives with healthcare organizations seeking gender-diverse board candidates, facilitating 150+ placements over ten years before restructuring in Fall 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Legacy Sponsor Funding: BiB was a sponsored program funded by Legacy Sponsors (Deerfield, Oxeon, WCAS, and previously Advancium Health Network). The program connected female executives with board opportunities at no cost to participants. The website states it will direct individuals to contacts at each former sponsor for successor initiatives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Break into the Boardroom (BiB) is a board candidate placement program that connects healthcare organizations seeking gender-diverse board members with a network of 375+ pre-vetted high-performing female executives across biotech, pharma, medtech, payor, provider, and HCIT verticals. The program has facilitated 150+ new board roles over ten years and operates through a Recruit for Your Board service, an alumni network, and a Go Forward Community successor initiative following its Fall 2025 restructuring. Services are offered at no cost to organizations and executive candidates, with the program historically funded by healthcare Legacy Sponsors.

Product overview

Break into the Boardroom (BiB) is a board candidate placement program for healthcare organizations seeking gender-diverse leadership. The core BiB Program connects healthcare organizations with high-performing female executives, supported by the Recruit for Your Board Service and the BiB Alumni Network of 375+ trained women. Following the 2025 restructuring, the Go Forward Community expanded initiative supports independent successor programs through legacy sponsors Deerfield, Oxeon, and WCAS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Break into the Boardroom (BiB) Core Program A board candidate recruitment and placement program that connects leading healthcare organizations with high-performing female executives for board positions. The program has trained over 375 women and facilitated 150+ new board roles over ten years across biotech, pharma, medtech, payor, provider, and HCIT verticals.
• Recruit for Your Board Service Recruitment service connecting healthcare organizations with gender-diverse board candidates from the BiB alumni network, targeting biotech, pharma, medtech, payor, provider, and HCIT verticals with executives holding CFO, CEO, and other C-Suite roles.
• Go Forward Community Expanded impact initiative launched after the 2025 restructuring, providing new resources, broadened stakeholders, and successor boardroom initiatives through BiB's Legacy Sponsors (Deerfield, Oxeon, WCAS).
• BiB Alumni Network A community of 375+ female executives trained through the BiB program, representing domain expertise across healthcare verticals and functional expertise including CFO, CEO, and various other C-Suite roles who connect and refer board opportunities to one another.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organizations with gender-diverse boards are 43% more likely to achieve above-average profits for the industries they serve
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Ellevate Network (formerly 85 Broads): A professional women's network offering mentoring, networking, and career advancement programming including pathways to board service. Comparable to BiB in its community-led model for advancing female professionals, though broader in scope beyond healthcare and board-specific readiness.
• Parity.Org: A nonprofit organization advancing gender parity in corporate leadership through partnerships with companies committing to board and executive diversity. Comparable to BiB's mission of advancing women into board roles, though it operates through corporate pledges rather than candidate placement.
• EQUIPPP (Executive Women in PE): An organization that places experienced female executives onto PE-backed portfolio company boards. Directly comparable to BiB's healthcare-focused board placement function, though it serves PE-backed companies across industries rather than exclusively healthcare.

Broad incumbents

• Spencer Stuart (Board & CEO Practice): One of the world's largest retained executive search firms with a dedicated Board Practice that recruits directors for public and private companies. Directly competes with BiB's recruiting function for healthcare board placements, but operates as a fee-based paid service across all industries rather than a free community-driven model.
• Catalyst: A global nonprofit that advances women in leadership through research, advisory services, and inclusion programs for corporations. Comparable to BiB in its mission to expand women's representation in leadership, but operates as a research and advisory organization rather than a candidate placement platform.
• Korn Ferry (Board & CEO Search): Major global organizational consulting firm with a Board and CEO Search practice serving healthcare clients alongside other industries. Directly competes with BiB for healthcare board mandates, but delivers via paid retained search engagements at significantly larger scale.
• WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation: WCD is the largest global membership organization of women corporate directors, providing peer networking, education, and director placement resources for corporate board members. Comparable to BiB in its mission to advance women on corporate boards, though it operates across all industries and at larger global scale rather than healthcare-only.
• Heidrick & Struggles (Board of Directors Practice): A global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated Board of Directors practice that places diverse directors across industries including healthcare. Comparable to BiB on the board placement side, but operates as a commercial paid service with broader sector coverage.

Direct peers

• Boardroom Ready: A nonprofit board readiness program that trains and prepares women executives for corporate board service through intensive programming and direct placement support. Operates with a similar talent-development-to-board-placement pipeline as BiB, though with a more selective cohort-based model rather than continuous alumni community.
• The Athena Alliance: A membership-based community that prepares senior executive women for corporate board service through curated networks, education, and direct board opportunity matching. Highly comparable to BiB in its board-readiness programming and talent-matching model, with a paid subscription business model and broader industry coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/break-into-the-boardroom

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Break into the Boardroom (BiB)