MORE NEWS & ARTICLES

The G in ESG
January 27, 2023

With ESG here to stay, the key is ensuring that good governance practices are i

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It Is Essential for Directors to Learn from Their (and Other’s) Mistakes
January 26, 2023

Unfortunately, boards sometimes screw up.

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What Boards Should Ask Management About Compensation and ESG
January 26, 2023

The board should understand the company’s broader ESG goals to ensure the right

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A Decade of Disruption Continues for Boards
January 25, 2023

In an unstable risk environment, directors must help their companies manage for

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Finance, the Audit Committee and the Climate Disclosure Journey
January 24, 2023

To guide companies toward their ESG goals, audit committee members should under

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A Proxy Season Survival Guide for Compensation Committees
January 23, 2023

To withstand investor scrutiny, directors must understand industry compensation

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An SEC Enforcement Action Could Change the Game for “Without Cause” Firings
January 20, 2023

Public boards may find it more difficult to afford favorable treatment to termi

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Wrangle the Top "Gray Rhinos" of 2023
January 18, 2023

Scenario analysis is crucial to the board’s ability to stay on top of major ris

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How CEOs succeed: 'Think big, start small, move fast'

By Sandy Ogg

 

Bain released research in 2012 on public companies generating above $500 million in revenues in 12 developed and emerging economies. There was no good news. Eighty percent of the 2,000 companies they assessed believed they were doing well. Yet, according to stakeholders, only about 10% were actually doing as well as they thought. And only 11% were able to sustain profitable growth.

Sandy Ogg is currently Operating Partner, Private Equity Group, at Blackstone Group LP in New York (www.blackstone.com). In this role he helps select management and board members for Blackstone’s portfolio companies. He has founded CEOWorks to advise CEOs and boards on deriving and delivering value faster (www.ceo.works). Previously, he served as chief human resources officer for Unilever PLC in London and prior to that was SVP of Leadership, Learning and Performance at Motorola Inc.

The author can be contacted at sogg@blackstone.com. This article originated from a presentation he mad eat the 2014 Wharton Leadership Conference, “Preparing for a Complex and Uncertain World”
(http://leadershipconference.wharton.upenn.edu). 

Better boards for a better world

By Alice Korngold

 

Alice Korngold is president and CEO of Korngold Consulting (www.korngoldconsulting.com). She provides board advisory services and facilitates leadership retreats for executives from multinational corporations, professional services firms, and global, national, and regional nonprofits. She has trained and placed several hundred business executives and professionals on NGO/nonprofit boards. She is the author of A Better World, Inc.: How Companies Profit by Solving Global Problems . . . Where Governments Cannot (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014). 

The author can be contacted at alice@korngoldconsulting.com.

Resident expertise: 'Digital directors 'at the board table

By Norbert Gottenberg

 

A commercial company’s long-term viability could be threatened if there isn’t any digital expertise resident at the board table.

The author can be contacted at norbert@gottenberg.net.

Riding the technology S-curve

By Don Peppers

I’m writing this article in a plane over the Atlantic, returning from the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. More than 90,000 people attended this four-day technology feeding frenzy — representing not just mobile device manufacturers and phone networks, but app makers, accessory manufacturers, computer companies, consulting firms, cloud vendors, social media platforms, connected infrastructure outfits, online security vendors, and even various country and province governments.

Don Peppers is founding partner of Peppers & Rogers Group, a unit of TeleTech Holdings Inc. He is a member of the advisory board or board of directors of five digital companies today, including one publicly traded firm, Cicero Inc. He can be contacted at dpeppers@1to1.com.

Technology: It's not 'just about cyber

By Jane Chwick

 

Cyber-attacks on businesses and governments are constantly in the headlines. Corporate boards recognize the severity of this threat and are beginning to ask questions surrounding their company’s cyber capabilities. This is necessary, and a good start, but not sufficient. 

Jane Chwick is a retired partner of Goldman Sachs. She spent over 30 years with the investment firm in technology, most recently as the co-chief operating officer of the 8,000-person technology division. She is on the boards of Voya Financial and MarketAxess and is the co-founder of Trewtec Inc., a technology advisory firm designed to help directors and CEOs evaluate technology in their companies (www.trewtec.com).

The author can be contacted at jane.chwick@trewtec.com.

Transition plans 'for ineffective directors

By James J. Zuehlke

 

Serving on a board of directors is an honor, but not all directorships are successful. A board member can easily leave a corporate board if he or she decides that they no longer like the direction the company is heading, dislike the workload, or feels that their opinions are not being taken seriously. If a board member comes to this decision, they can simply write a resignation letter and be done. This may not be the most professional way to handle the situation, but it usually is that simple. 

James Zuehlke, principal of Cardinal Board Services, focuses on maximizing the effectiveness of clients’ boards.

The author can be contacted at at jimz@cardinalboardservices.com.

TSR can be a flawed 'incentive measure

By Greg Arnold

The most effective executive compensation programs today strike the balance across key stakeholders — boards of directors, management teams, and shareholders.

Greg Arnold (left) is a principal and Barry Sullivan is a managing director of executive compensation consulting firm Semler Brossy (www.semlerbrossy.com).

The authors can be contacted at garnold@semlerbrossy.com and bsullivan@semlerbrossy.com. Special thanks to Joseph Daou for analytical support.

The BEPS impact: Increased tax scrutiny

By Dennis T. Whalen

 

The obligation to report country-by-country tax information to all jurisdictions is on the immediate horizon. The impact on multinationals will be profound, with significant implications for the tax compliance and reporting functions, transfer pricing policies and oversight, tax audits and controversies, and reputational risk. 

Dennis T. Whalen is partner in charge and executive director of KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute. Manal S. Corwin is head of KPMG’s International Tax practice.

The authors can be contacted at auditcommittee@kpmg.com.

Board decision making 'and diversity

By Doug Raymond

The duty of care sits at the core of directors’ obligations under corporate law. When evaluating a course of action or making a decision, directors have the duty to use that care which “ordinarily careful and prudent persons would use in similar circumstances.” This includes the obligation to inform themselves, before acting, of all relevant material information reasonably available to them. In reviewing whether directors have violated their duty of care, courts generally look to the quality of the process by which the board made its decision.

Doug Raymond is a partner in the law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP (www.drinkerbiddle.com). 

The author can be contacted at douglas.raymond@dbr.com. Charles Vargo, an associate with Drinker Biddle & Reath, assisted in the preparation of this column.

Prudential 'judgment

By Jim Kristie

I first published the term “prudential judgment” in Directors & Boards in 1987. And I have not used the term in the journal since. Until now.

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