Lack of women is especially apparent at the C-suite level.In February 2022, Jennifer Reynolds officially became the CEO of Women Corporate Directors, an organization touted as “the world’s largest membership organization and community of women corporate board directors.” Reynolds, who serves on the ...

Director technology knowledge is key to company performance and growth.When the COVID-19 pandemic upended our lives in March 2020, little did we know that it would usher in a new wave of digital transformation and technology adoption for companies across nearly every industry. Suddenly, many office ...

The public depends on directors who are principled, decisive and protective of shareholders.Individual investors rely on corporate directors to protect their investments. Directors are watchdogs; they are minding the store on behalf of the public. The best directors have an interest in the specific ...

Quality directors must be collaborative, committed and courageous.  To help companies navigate disruptive technology, a global pandemic and other major challenges facing companies today, a high-performing board of directors is more essential than ever. “The level of change and disrupt...

There are risks to overboarding, both for the company and the director.The past decade has seen a trend toward directors rightsizing their board portfolios to better align with the increased demands of the job. According to the National Association of Corporate Directors’ annual public company ...

Eight characteristics of the courageous board.Airline pilots and anesthesiologists have been known to quip that their professions involve “90% boredom and 10% sheer terror.” I have come to view service on a public company board in a similar fashion. Like pilots reviewing preflight checklists, p...

High trust generates significant shareholder value.Customers prefer to deal with companies they trust, even if they have to pay more. In a survey I conducted, I found that customers are willing to pay a 29.6% premium to a company they trust. Employees also benefit from working in high-trust env...

Build an employee value proposition.  The Great Resignation has put retention on the agenda of many boards. Rather than simply reacting — prioritizing pay raises or special packages to stay competitive  — directors can engage management toward a proactive approach. In the past, m...

While the debate over board focus on environmental and social issues has dominated popular attention for the last two years, a similar — though unexpected — controversy may be brewing. It centers on the idea of how many boards is too many for an individual director and whether there should be an exc...