Thirteen listed companies in the Netherlands have supervisory board members who have held the position for more than 12 years, breaking the corporate governance code, the Volkskrant reports on Saturday.

In total, 20 supervisory board members have had their positions for longer than 12 years. Companies which break the code of conduct have to explain their reasons in their annual reports.
The longest serving supervisory board member is Alexander van Pujenbroek, 64, who has been on the TMG media group board for 36 years and is currently president.
Next on the Volkskrant’s list is Tortsein Hagen, 68, who has been on the supervisory board at Hal Holding for 26 years.
Corporate governance expert Stefan Peij told the paper he considers 12 years to be long enough to maintain a critical edge. ‘It is not about the rules, it is about what we have deemed to be socially responsible,’ he said.
Most Dutch companies have a two-tier board system, consisting of a management board and a supervisory board.