In search of competitiveness, organizations have increasingly pursue to become more efficient and as a result of this process has increasingly the adoption of Corporate Governance s best practices. Among these practices is highlighted the adoption of the Board of Directors. Therefore, the appropriate choice of board members is critical to organizational success. This is the objective of this dissertation: identify the competencies required by board members of Brazilian companies, focusing on family-owned organizations. To achieve this goal a qualitative, analytical and descriptive research with in-depth interviews conducted with a group of board members selected by experience in this type of company and by accessibility was held. A group of managers was also interviewed in order to ascertain similarities and differences in core competencies of directors and managers. As analytical reference basis was used Quinn s leadership model (2003) and the competency model developed by the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance (IBGC) applicable to the Board of Directors. The conclusion of this study points to the hierarchy of competences in terms of greater and lesser relevance as assessed by board members. The conclusion shows that, understanding the organizational culture, own strategic vision and know-how in managing conflicts are core competencies for a board member of a family-owned company. Finally, the interviews also have highlighted a number of other competencies as, importance of understanding the dynamics and desires of the controlling-family members, the development of relationships of trust, credibility and respect with the group of control, and to own persuasion capacity with objective to adopting new practices.