When investigating a company, it is vital to look at more than just assets--look at the people behind the company.
Here is a quick list of resources for investigating a corporate board.
The corporate website
It is always a good idea to start with the web. The internet can be a treasure trove of information. Many companies place a lot of useful information on their corporate websites and sub-sites. Generally, most companies and non-profits list their entire board, which helps to legitimatize the company. Many companies also list their staff directory as well.
Google and the indexed web
Google is yet another fantastic way to find information on a company. Google's index of the web also contains old and deleted files from a corporate website--it may be very useful to do a more advanced site search to uncover records and files indexed from the past, including past staff members.
Former Employees
Try interviewing former employees of a company to find out who may still be working for the company that you are investigating. This may also include former board members. Such research may turn up disgruntled employees or really interesting stories about the inner workings of the organization or company. Current, employees may be less apt to disclose such information.
Phone Lists of Private Companies
You can access private company lists from services such as infusa.com and zapdata.com. These databases have amassed quite a bit of data from various public records and open-source databases, news and telephone interviews. It should be noted that these lists are focused on marketers, but the data is nonetheless useful as an open-source intelligence source.
Annual Reports
Publically traded companies provide annual reports, which are accessible online. It is a great way to find a list of board members and their backgrounds.
SEC Filings
Try searching the SEC (sec.gov) by company name to locate a company's proxy statement (DEF-14 filing), which will reveal the compensation paid to board members and corporate officers.
