The Corporate Director Podcast: Recent Episodes
Diligent Corporation
On The Corporate Director Podcast, we discuss the experiences and ideas behind what’s working in corporate board governance in our digital-tech-fueled world. You’ll hear interviews with corporate leaders who have compelling stories to share, governance researchers with new insights, and conversations with “governance geeks” who are passionate about finding the best ideas out there to help board directors do their work better. Episodes will feature topics such as: corporate governance, strategy, board culture, risk management, ESG, secure communication, digital transformation through boardroom technology, board meeting management, director recruiting and succession planning, board refreshment, boardroom meeting minutes and other good governance best practices.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Shai Ganu, Managing Director and Global Leader of Executive Compensation and Board Advisory Services at WTW, takes a deep dive on aligning executive compensation to ESG metrics and strategy.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Stuart Cable, Vice Chair and Global Chair of M&A at Goodwin, and Alexandra Kennedy, Director of Client Services at Twitter, discuss Goodwin’s GOOD Directors program, a national leadership opportunity focused on accelerating diversity in the boardroom.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Richard Levick,
Chairman & CEO of LEVICK, a leading public relations and crisis communications firm, discuss how boards can lead effectively in times of company crisis.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from David Greenberg, special advisor and former CEO of LRN and director at International Seaways, discuss the importance of bringing a compliance perspective into strategic boardroom discussions.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, board leader Deanna Oppenheimer discusses her own experiences in the boardroom, recent trends in board diversity and strategies to diversify the leadership pipeline. Also in this episode, hosts Meghan Day and Dottie Schindlinger highlight key findings from the latest Diligent Institute research on gender diversity.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Dr. John Katsos, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics at the American University of Sharjah and Jason Miklian, Senior researcher at the Center for Development and Environment at the University of Oslo take us inside their recent Harvard Business Review article, A New Crisis Playbook for an Uncertain World.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Maura Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, discusses the state of ESG integration in Irish boardrooms based on recent research conducted in partnership with the Diligent Institute.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Sherry Williams, Chief Audit Executive, and Don Bouffard, Audit Committee Chair at Amalgamated Bank give us insight into how internal audit can serve as an important link between business operations and strategy.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Joe Hurd, former technology executive for companies like Facebook and Gannett, and experienced public company director, discuss the key similarities and differences between boards in the United States versus boards in the United Kingdom.
In this special end-of-year edition of The Corporate Director Podcast, hosts Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day are joined by TK Kerstetter, host of Inside America’s Boardrooms to discuss their 2021 governance highlights and predictions for 2022.
In this episode of the Corporate Director Podcast, hear board member and digital expert Cris Topfner-Rigby detail her unique journey to the boardroom, and Joel Holsinger, Partner and Co-Head of Alternative Credit at Ares Management, and Michelle Armstrong, Head of Philanthropy and Executive Director of the Ares Charitable Foundation, discuss their organization’s employee-centered approach to charitable giving.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear Bart Van den Bussche, Director, and Aurore Zadeling, Director Manager, at PwC Belgium discuss key findings from the latest edition of the Corporate Governance and Executive Pay report.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Andrew Droste, Head of Stewardship for the Americas for the Carbon Tracker Initiative, an independent financial think tank. Droste discusses the current ESG regulatory and investor landscape, future evolutions in the space, and what corporate leaders should be doing as a result.
On this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Nick Shevelyov, the Chief Security Officer of Silicon Valley Bank and author of the new book, Cyber War...and Peace: Building Digital Trust Today with History as our Guide, discuss the importance of cyber security in today’s boardroom discussions. Shevelyov also shares some insights on how companies can build and maintain an appropriate digital defense team.
On this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Frederik Otto, founder and business advisor of the Sustainability Board Report, discuss the importance of sustainable corporate leadership and the future of sustainability. Otto also dives into some research findings around sustainable board practices.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Sally Susman, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pfizer, as she takes us inside the process to create a COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed “Project Lightspeed,” and what she learned about leadership and governance along the way.
How can we increase board accountability in new, emerging and critical issue areas? In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, hear from Alexander Lowry, Executive Director of the Career & Connection Institute, and Esther Aguilera, President and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association as they discuss ESG, stakeholder capitalism, DEI and more and how the boardroom can support meaningful progress.
In this episode of The Corporate Director Podcast, Frederic Barge, founder of Reward Value, gives a preview of his upcoming research on how we can rethink executive compensation models to better serve all stakeholders.
What emerging trends and issue areas should corporate leaders be watching as we move into a new era of business? In this episode, Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune Media, discusses the changing roles of the board and C-suite as stakeholder capitalism takes a stronger root in how companies function.
In this episode, hear from Dennis Carey, Vice Chairman of Korn Ferry, Ram Charan, world-renowned business adviser, author, teacher, and speaker, and Bill McNabb, former Chairman and CEO of Vanguard, as they take us inside the key takeaways and impetus behind the publication of their latest book: Talent, Strategy, Risk: How Investors and Boards Are Redefining TSR.
As we operate in a rapidly evolving world, how has the mandate of the board changed, and what does that mean for their responsibilities and duties moving forward? Hear from global economist and experienced leader Dr. Dambisa Moyo as she shares insights from her latest book: “How Boards Work – And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World”
As the push for greater diversity in the boardroom continues, what does the picture look like in different cultures and communities around the world? In this episode, Caroline Fattal discusses her unusual journey to the boardroom in the Middle East and her work to empower other women in leadership roles in the region.
How can we best work to support LGBTQ+ representation in company leadership? Hear from Todd Sears and Matt Fust of Out Leadership on the current state of LGBTQ+ representation, the work they are doing to support LGBTQ+ leaders, and methods organizations should be utilizing to move the needle.
Author Mark Tighe takes us inside his best-selling book, Champagne Football: The Rise and Fall of John Delaney and the Football Association of Ireland, a story of corruption, groupthink, and the cult of celebrity that rocked the Irish football and governance communities in equal measure.
As existential threats to business continue to mount, how can companies ensure the health and long-term viability of their company and employees? Hear from Isabel Kelly, non-executive director at the Panoply and CEO of Profit with Purpose, on the importance of nonprofit and for-profit collaboration, and from Ulrike Malmendier, Economics Professor at the University of California Berkeley, on the effects of stress on CEO health outcomes.
What lessons should companies take forward into the “next normal?” How can we meaningfully support and drive inclusion at all levels of an organization? Joyce Cacho, experienced board member at Sunrise Banks NA, the World Benchmarking Alliance, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, discusses the importance of inclusion in 2021 and beyond.
As we continue to move out of the pandemic, how can corporate leaders “do better?” In this episode, hear from Hubert Joly, the former Chairman and CEO of Best Buy, and Colin McLetchie, President and Founder of Five Ways Forward, discuss the best ways to truly lead with purpose.
Increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in corporate leadership has been a long-fought uphill battle. In the wake of company commitments, listing requirements and government legislation on the issue, who has benefitted? More importantly, which groups have still been left out and left behind? Hear from Meesha Rosa, Senior Director of Board Services at Catalyst, on how to ensure that a rising tide really does lift all boats.
How can directors best support and direct strategic business transformation? Hear from transformation expert and board member Dorlisa Flur about her experiences overseeing several unique business transformations, some in the midst of the pandemic.
In the push for greater boardroom diversity, how can we ensure we correctly track, measure, and promote progress? Esther Aguilera, President and CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) details the struggle for greater Latino representation in public company boardrooms, and what her organization is doing to help.
As companies face increasingly existential threats to business and to society as a whole, how should corporate leaders grapple with these issues to foster positive change? Debbie Alvarez-Rodriguez, board member at Recology, and Kathryn Cartini, co-founder of Chloe Capital, give their insights and advice.
In our 50th episode special, hear from Diligent CEO Brian Stafford and COO and President Lisa Edwards for an in-depth discussion of modern governance: what it means to them, why it’s so important, how it’s changing, and what to expect for the future of governance.
Which issues are top priority for directors as we head into 2021? How confident are they in economic conditions, now and in the future? What trends in director sentiment are we likely to see continue this year? Melanie Nolen, Research Director for Chief Executive Group and Research Editor for Corporate Board Member Magazine, weighs in with results from Corporate Board Member and Diligent Institute’s latest research.
As business landscapes continue to shift, the definition of what truly makes a “modern board” also evolves. Hear from Eva Sage-Gavin, Senior Managing Director of Accenture’s Global Talent, and Larry Clinton, President of the International Security Alliance, on two issues that should be on the agenda for any modern board in 2021.
With the pandemic, wildfires, flooding and more catastrophic events, ESG issues will only grow in prominence this year, but effective ESG metrics and disclosure remains elusive for many companies. In this episode, Kristen Sullivan, leader of sustainability and KPI services at Deloitte, provides practical insights on ESG metrics and disclosures for corporate directors.
Having the right people in the room is critical to a board’s success—yet are today’s governance professionals getting the most out of their evaluations? TK Kerstetter, facilitator of over 25 evaluations, talks about process, ways to make progress, and the importance of leadership and culture.
Having the right people in the room is critical to a board’s success—yet are today’s governance professionals getting the most out of their evaluations? TK Kerstetter, facilitator of over 25 evaluations, talks about process, ways to make progress, and the importance of leadership and culture.
Having the right people in the room is critical to a board’s success—yet are today’s governance professionals getting the most out of their evaluations? TK Kerstetter, facilitator of over 25 evaluations, talks about process, ways to make progress, and the importance of leadership and culture.
This episode features TK Kerstetter (who is ALSO doing the evaluations mini-series) - repeat of last year's concept.
Has 2020 brought a real shift in terms of diversity and board recruiting—and what more needs to be done? Felicity Hassan from the executive search firm Audeliss talks about shared accountability, intersectionality, pipelines, privilege, and more.
From rethinking committee structures to navigating COVID-19, change, and ESG expectations, boards had a lot on their plates in 2020. Governance expert and former general counsel/corporate secretary Doug Chia shares his observations and recommendations.
Description: PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey is out for 2020, a year truly like no other.
Leah Malone, a director in PwC’s Governance Insights Center, shares the latest findings including how DE&I is factoring (or not) into board composition and executive compensation.
Then we speak with Melanie Nolen, Director of Research for Corporate Board Member about the latest Director Confidence Index created with Diligent Institute.
Be prepared for some surprises.
Coco Brown created The Athena Alliance when she found herself in Silicon Valley “a lone woman among a sea of men.” Here she talks about board recruitment, refreshment, tenure, and how an “only” on a board can make their voice heard and add value.
What does it mean to be a good employer and corporate citizen today? JUST Capital CEO Martin Whittaker talks about changing roles in 2020, the challenges of ESG reporting, and what boards should think about leading up to the US presidential election.
By 2020, many in the governance world expected corporate boards to be at least 30% women. Yet halfway through September, we’re still at 22%, and women of color only constitute 4% to 6% of membership on Fortune 500 boards.
In this episode, podcast co-host Meghan Day discusses the situation with Phyllis Campbell. In addition to holding an executive leadership position with JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the Pacific Northwest, she brings a governance perspective from the boards of two leading consumer companies in sectors that are undergoing great challenges: Alaska Air Group and Nordstrom.
An advocate for diversity in executive leadership, she has also served on the Diversity Advisory Board (DAB) of Toyota, on the nonprofit boards of PATH and the US-Japan Council, and on the global advisory board of Women Corporate Directors (WCD) and the NACD Governance National Advisory Council.
What does a high-performing board look like in 2020, already a year like no other? To gain some insights, podcast co-host Meghan Day talks to a particularly busy director: Anna Catalano.
Not only does Catalano serve on the boards of Willis Towers Watson, Kraton Corporation, HollyFrontier Corporation, Frontdoor, Inc., and Appvion, she is a certified Board Leadership Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors as well as president of its Texas/Tri-Cities Chapter and board member for the Alzheimer’s Association and the Houston Grand Opera.
In this episode, she shares her reflections from these varied experiences on how today’s boards can stay ahead of crisis and change.
“We may vote against the election of directors where we have concerns that a company might not be dealing with E&S factors appropriately.”
This new addition to BlackRock’s corporate governance and proxy voting guidelines shifts ESG from “an afterthought to a strategic imperative” for boards, says Helle Bank Jorgensen, a globally recognized sustainability, climate change, and ESG expert.
To help board members keep pace, Jorgensen founded Competent Boards to give current and future directors an online platform to learn from global experts and each other. The end goal is for board members to “get the tools to get the insight to get the foresight they need to make better decisions and make their companies more resilient.”
In the tumultuous year that has been 2020, it might seem prudent for companies to hunker down, lower expectations, and put proactive strategy on the back burner until the business climate stabilizes.
Resist that urge, Shellye Archambeau says. Businesses that succeed do things differently, Archambeau says. Getting there inherently incurs risk. In fact, that’s what the corporate structure was designed for.
The COVID-19 pandemic is transforming how corporate boards conduct business. For starters, with months of virtual meeting experience now behind them, most board members have largely mastered this tricky terrain. Can boards apply the best habits of today’s virtual meetings to more effective operations beyond the COVID-19 crisis?
Declining foot traffic. The migration to digital and e-commerce brands. More globalization and lower barriers to entry. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic sent in-store shoppers and their wallets home for months, the future of retail has been called “dire” and “apocalyptic.” Have online retailers like Amazon won the battle for good?
Anddria Clack-Rogers Varnado brings a dual perspective to this question from the worlds of retail and governance. She’s held executive strategy roles with Williams-Sonoma and Macy’s, where she’s currently chief strategy officer, and serves on the board of directors for Umpqua Holdings.
At the beginning of 2020, the environmental, sustainability/social, governance (ESG) discussion centered around climate change. What a difference a few months makes.
The pandemic shutdowns, worldwide outrage over police brutality and systemic racism – what does it all mean for boards?
Roy Dunbar brings a multi-faceted perspective from executive leadership roles at Network Solutions, MasterCard, and Eli Lilly and now serving on the boards of Humana, Johnson Controls, and SiteOne Landscape Supply.
Show Hosts: Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of the Diligent Institute, and Meghan Day, Senior Director of Board Member Experience for Diligent Corporation
On this week’s episode, hosts Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan day reflect on the recent events, and how corporate leaders are responding to the #BlackLivesMatter protests and denouncing racism and police violence.
Then, Meghan shares her previously recorded interview with Larry Clinton, President of the Internet Security Alliance, on the huge uptick in cybercrime during the pandemic. According to Larry, if cybercrime around the world had its own economy, it would be big enough to qualify for inclusion among the G-10 nations. Larry discussed what it all means for boards, and what board members need to ask and expect from management in this new environment of increased cyber risk.
Executive compensation has gotten complicated. Succession planning – for more roles than just the CEO – has risen to the fore. Meanwhile, stock price volatility is spurring a rise in activism, inspiring shareholder rights plans, and tempting hedge funds.
Dawn Zier, a board member for Spirit Airlines, brings insights from an industry hard hit by COVID-19, as well as perspectives from the board of Hain Celestial Group and her leadership of Nutrisystem. In this episode—marking the one-year anniversary of The Corporate Director Podcast—she joins co-host Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day to talk about how boards are re-thinking metrics, post-mortems, leadership, and more in today’s “new normal.”
One “business” that’s thriving during the coronavirus crisis is cybercrime, which has increased four-fold since the start of the pandemic, according to the FBI. In this episode, we speak to Bob Zukis, CEO and founder of the Digital Directors Network about where boards are at in terms of preparedness, and how “digital directors” can help.
Zukis is a leading advocate for digital diversity in the corporate boardroom, who has lived and worked on the front lines of globalization across four continents and twenty countries. He cites “a cybersecurity leadership crisis in companies all around the world in the boardroom”: They need to move from awareness of cyber risk to action.
During the COVID-19 crisis, when we most need a strong and robust healthcare system, healthcare leaders have faced unprecedented challenges. From canceling lucrative elective procedures at already cash-strapped facilities, to obtaining and allocating vital resources, to navigating evolving conditions—and standing up to skeptics—while battling a deadly virus, hospital and health system leaders have faced one tough decision after another.
What best practices can all industries glean from the experience of healthcare boards, both now and into the future?
In this episode, podcast co-hosts Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of the Diligent Institute, and Meghan Day, Diligent Corporation Senior Director of Board Member Experience, get insights from Jamie Orlikoff, healthcare governance expert and chair of the board for the St. Charles Health System in Bend, Oregon.
Is it right to order grocery delivery during a pandemic? What measures should companies take to protect employees during a lockdown? As the COVID-19 crisis places ethical questions like this in the forefront, @GlobalEthicist Dr. Andrea Bonime-Blanc shares her views on the podcast.
Dr. Bonime-Blanc has built a career around helping corporations, governments, and nonprofits navigate ethical issues, including serving as an Independent Ethics Advisor to the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico, and authoring the book, Gloom to Boom, on how leaders can transform ESG risk into opportunity.
In this episode, Dr. Bonime-Blanc discusses the deficit of public trust in institutions, the role of ethical advisors, and the influence of technology on ESG issues and risk.
COVID-19 is very different from a traditional economics-based crisis or natural disaster. A great deal of uncertainty exists related to global response and how long the situation will last. “It’s more akin to a war zone than a normal crisis,” says Alejandro “Alex” Wolff.
Wolff is a 34-year veteran of the US State Department, who now serves on the boards of Albemarle Corporation, PG&E Corporation, and two airlines – JetSmart Holdings – an airline operating in South America, and Frontier Airlines based in the US.
In this episode, Wolff shares his insights on governance through the COVID-19 crisis, tips for boards on crisis leadership in general, and his predictions for what the world will look like beyond the pandemic.
Officially a pandemic, the impact of coronavirus is broad reaching and disruptive. For companies, your response not only impacts the bottom line, it also impacts lives. Podcast guest, Peter Deans, shares with Meghan Day, Diligent’s Director of Board Experience, his take on how the associated risks need to be effectively managed by boards and management.
Also in this episode, Diligent Institute Head of Research Annie Kors offers highlights from a just-released report, A Few Good Women: Gender Inclusion in Public Company Board Leadership.
Change is happening at lightning speed. In fact, the National Association of Corporate Directors reports that nearly 7 in 10 directors believe their company won’t be able to extend its historical strategy over the next five years.
Dr. Clayton Christensen tackled this issue with his 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma. As did his fellow technology innovator, Claudia Fan Munce, as a co-founder and former managing director of the IBM Venture Capital Group.
Munce shares with Diligent Institute Executive Director Dottie Schindlinger her perspectives on Christensen’s work and legacy, plus her own thoughts on innovation as a board member today. Also in this episode, Diligent Institute lead researcher Annie Kors shares highlights from a just-released report, “Beyond the Boardroom: How Directors Gain Insight,” with Meghan Day, Diligent’s Director of Board Experience.
How is innovation disrupting boardrooms?
The roughly 60 million Latinos in the United States are a large and growing part of the nation’s workforce and customer base. Yet less than 3% of the board seats of Fortune 1000 companies are held by Latinos, according to Esther Aguilera, president & CEO of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA).
LCDA is changing this picture for the better. The organization is identifying board candidates, coaching and positioning Latino professionals for board service, and increasing awareness of the need for more Latinos on boards.
In this episode, Meghan Day, Director of Directors’ Experience, Diligent, talks to Aguilera about efforts toward greater diversity to date—and how far boards have to go.
ESG is having its moment on the world stage: Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg addressed the 50th meeting of the World Economic Forum. This year’s updated “Davos Manifesto” focused on the broader social purpose of corporations – echoing a similar move by the Business Roundtable. And just before this convergence of global power players in the Swiss Alps, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink’s annual letter outlined new climate change disclosure requirements for publicly traded companies.
Yet PwC’s annual CEO survey reports that climate change isn’t even among the top 10 issues of concern for CEOs. When The Conference Board surveyed C suite executives about their hot-button issues, climate change ranked only 9th, up from 11th the year before.
In this episode, Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of the Diligent Institute, talks about this confluence of trends and contradictions with Paul Washington, Executive Director of The Conference Board’s ESG Center.
From competing and volatile priorities to changing stakeholder demands, board oversight responsibilities have reached new heights of complexity—and this is particularly true in today’s era of cultural shifts, geopolitical tensions, changing regulations, and unrelenting technology disruption.
Each year for over a decade, assurance, tax, and financial advisory firm BDO has surveyed directors of public companies across market caps to get a feel for the landscape. What issues are keeping boards up at night? What changes are looming on the horizon?
In this episode, Amy Rojik from BDO shares findings—and surprises—from the firm’s 2019 survey: “The Board’s Direction: Steadying the Shop in Times of Turbulence.”
As the pace of change accelerates, shareholder expectations intensify, and diversity, community, and ESG issues rise as priorities, board composition must include individuals with unique but complementary skills and experience. Achieving this fine balance is the job of the nom/gov committee.
How is this role evolving in a changing landscape? What can a nom/gov committee member or chair do to ensure success?
In this episode, Leslie Campbell shares insights from her experience as nom/gov committee chair for 1800PetMeds and Coupa Software.
Episode resources:
- Conference Board On Governance: Time to Replace Nominating with Governance Committee
- NACD & Diligent Partner to Offer Board Recruitment tool
The “Larry Fink letter” on corporate purpose. A Listeria-initiated court decision that’s raising the bar for risk management across industries. “Cousin Greg” from the HBO show Succession and a possible WeWork movie bringing corporate boards into pop culture. In the words of Schindlinger, “2019 was a governance year for the record books.”
It’s time to look back—and look ahead. In this special 2019 holiday episode, Schindlinger and Day are joined by TK Kerstetter, host of Inside America’s Boardrooms, for this year’s highlights and 2020 predictions.
Digital transformation fuels efficiency and innovation—but presents a range of risks in everything from ESG to cybersecurity. In response, boards have found themselves pressed to look forward as well as review the past, shaping long-term strategies for global differentiation, capital allocation, while navigating uncertainty and complexity.
How can boards stay up to speed and ahead of risk and opportunity, particularly given today’s accelerating pace of change?
In this podcast episode, two technology professionals who are now professional independent directors share their unique perspectives on these issues. Nelson Chan provides insight from his role as board chair, and Merline Saintil shares her thoughts from her work as an operating executive and director with several technology companies. Their findings: Staying sharp and upping your game in a digitally transforming work all begins with expertise, preparation, and culture.
Boards are constantly rethinking how they’re engaging employees and influencing company culture. Now, as more CEOs are being dismissed for ethical reasons, boards are under pressure to fundamentally change their approach to ethics. Trends in value creation are further fueling discussions around structure, leaving boards to consider adopting a new model altogether.
In this podcast episode, Cindy Moehring discusses how boards can create a transparent, accountable company culture. Later on, special guest Adam Berger elaborates on what public company boards can learn from the private equity approach to value creation and working with entrepreneurial CEOs.
Cindy Moehring is Founder and Executive Chair of the Business Integrity Leadership Initiative, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, and she is the Former SVP, US Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for Walmart.
Adam Berger is Managing Director for Insight Partners.
On this episode, we discuss
- What Can Boards Do About CEOs’ Ethical Lapses? As more CEOs are being dismissed for ethical reasons, boards should take an active role in setting the culture of a company.
- How Can Boards Establish the Right Ethics Policies—and Ensure They’re Followed Accordingly? To ensure accountability, directors should ask probing questions that expose inconsistencies in repercussions for senior leaders vs. junior employees.
- Can Public Boards Approach Value Creation Like Private Equity Boards Do? The key to long-term value creation is aligning goals among shareholders, management and boards.
Checkout these resources we mention during the podcast:
- Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation paper
- Strategy& PwC 2019 Report on CEO Success
You can find more interviews like this on The Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day.
To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
On this episode, Dr. Anita Sands shares her thoughts on digital transformation—what’s going on and how directors can stay up to speed. With a masters in public policy and management and a Ph.D. in atomic and molecular physics, and as a non-U.S. member on several U.S. boards, Dr. Sands brings a unique perspective from the worlds of science, technology, and directorship.
Dr. Sands is a member of the boards of Service Now, Symantec, Pure Storage and she is an advisory board member for Thrive Global and Docusign.
We also hear from researchers Brian Tayan from Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance and Annie Kors from the Diligent Institute on a newly released report on how directors are engaging with stakeholders.
On this episode we discuss:
- Tectonic shifts in demographics, business models, and operating models
- “Ambidextrous leadership,” in which directors balance the predictability expected of today’s directors with exploration into the future
- Moving past diversity and inclusion to belonging
- Gaining awareness of unconscious bias
- The power of AI and machine learning to perform board responsibilities more efficiently and effectively
- Research on how directors are responding to stakeholders’ interests
Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
- Governance in the Digital Age: A Guide for the Modern Corporate Director
- A Human’s Guide to Machine Intelligence
- Dr. Anita Sands’ “Wisdom Cards” on LinkedIn
- Stakeholders Take Center Stage: Director Views on Priorities & Society from the Diligent Institute
You can find more interviews like this on our Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day.
To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
Innovation has long been thought of as crucial to an organization’s success. But, too often, there seems to be little innovation (and diversity) within the organization’s board.
On this episode of The Corporate Director podcast, Margaret Whelan shares how boards can rethink value, innovation, growth, and diversity.
Margaret is the CEO of Whelan Advisory, and also serves on the boards of the Housing Innovation Alliance, Mattamy Homes, John Burns Real Estate Consulting, and various other non profit boards.
What we talked about:
- Rethinking a firm’s value
- An ROI-only approach is no longer the only measure of value
- You have to balance innovation with core business investment
- Value creation requires creative thinking
- Innovation is at the core of a company’s performance
- DNA of the board itself affects a firm’s innovative approach
- Suggestions for the future of boards in America:
Resources we mentioned during the podcast:
- A joint report by EY and Corporate Board Member on governing disruptive technology
- ISS report on 2019 U.S. Board Diversity Trends
You can find more interviews like this on our Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day.
To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
On this episode, Leah Malone joins the show to discuss PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey. The study surveys over 700 US board directors, making it one of the largest public directors surveys in the country. Three-fourths of the directors are from companies with at least $1 billion in revenue.
Leah Malone is the Director at PwC’s Governance Insight Center, and author of the study.
On this episode we discuss:
- The “collegiality conundrum”: How board collegiality both assists and stifles board effectiveness
- The diversity dilemma: Directors believe diversity is important, but they’re fatigued from discussing it
- ESG enigma: Investors say they care, boards are skeptical
- Perplexing priorities: What boards believe about shareholder primacy
- The refreshment riddle: 49% of boards say another member ought to be replaced
Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
- PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey.
- Business Roundtable letter from 200 chief executives, redefining shareholder primacy
- PwC’s Governance Insight Center
- Leah Malone’s LinkedIn
You can find more interviews like this on our Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day.
To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
In 2018, 17.5% of the world’s largest 2,500 companies experienced CEO turnover. Notably, that number is up 3% from the year before.
Even more notably?
The top reason for CEO forced turnovers was misconduct.
Jennifer Chatman, Professor at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkely and Independent Director at Simpson Manufacturing Inc., has dedicated her research to demystifying corporate culture.
In this episode, Jennifer shares:
- Ways to identify a narcissistic CEO
- How to unveil a toxic corporate culture
- Recommendations for diverse boards of directors
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- “Are Narcissistic CEOs Bad for Business?”
- “What Climbing Expeditions Tell Us About Teamwork”
You can find more interviews like this on The Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day.
To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
Interviewing a professional who truly excels in her work is always a positive experience. But we wouldn’t just say that Anastassia Lauterbach is a professional who excels. Really, she’s a champion who inspires.
Anastassia is on the boards of EasyJet and Wirecard and on the Advisory Board for Diligent Institute. She’s also the author of The Artificial Imperative, and is CEO and founder of 1AU Ventures Ltd.
On this episode, we discuss:
- How technology has been slow to reach the boardroom
- Why every board member should have a base understanding of technology
- Anastassia’s advice for board rooms with technological challenges
- Asking management challenging questions
- The status of technology in boardrooms today
Checkout these resources we mentioned during the podcast:
- This research that shows more CEOs being ousted because of ethical misconduct
- The Artificial Imperative book
- Deloitte’s research on the lack of technology experts in the boardroom
You can find more interviews like this on our Corporate Director Podcast, hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day.
To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to the podcast on our website, or on Apple Podcasts, or on Spotify.
Nearly six years ago, Target experienced a major breach of its customer data. Since then, the conversations in boardrooms about cyber risk could not be more different than they used to be.
Back then, people were saying, “Why should boards spend time talking about cyber risk?” Nobody says that now. Instead, the conversation is around, “How much time should the board spend talking about cyber risk?”
In this episode, we asked Peter Gleason, CEO of NACD (the National Association of Corporate Directors), to share advice for how directors can stay up-to-date on trends in cyber risk—especially with so many body blows to security constantly coming up in the news.
ESG. Environment, social or sustainability, and governance.
There are no clear rules and regulations about ESG--no single definition that everyone is supposed to be following.
Not only thinking about ESG but also adopting adopting principles that drive ESG in all aspects of business is especially timely and topical right now.
We got to interview Clare Wardle, General Counsel and Company Secretary for Coca-Cola European Partners, about her global take on ESG.
“Every one of our environmental targets, we're seeing that that's going to make us a better, more sustainable business,” Wardle said.
One of the main problems plaguing modern governance is too much looking backward and not enough looking forward.
Another one is quality of information. If boards have to make decisions based on data, it stands to reason that they should get the most accurate and relevant information possible.
That’s what Dottie Schindlinger, co-author of Governance in the Digital Age, got to discuss with Susan Forrester, the chair and director of several listed companies, live in Sydney to celebrate the book.
“The only way we can make good decisions is by really good quality information,” Sue said.
“How do I make sure I've got the most up to date, real time information that I need, but still remembering that my job as a board member is to govern, not to run the company?”
Corporate boards are under pressure to become more diverse - in age, gender, skill set and more.
But younger executives already have full plates, and being a corporate director is becoming an increasingly tough job - one that might seem less attractive to younger candidates than in years past.
Are corporate boards heading toward a labor crisis? Why is the director role becoming so challenging (and maybe even unappealing)?
We recently sat down with Nora Denzel, a Silicon Valley tech executive who serves on the boards of AMD, Talend Software, and Ericsson, about how things are changing in corporate boardrooms and where we’re heading.
“The amount of time that I spend now in public board work, it's probably double what I spent 10 years ago,” Nora said. The game is changing, and directors are challenged to keep up - board composition and performance have reached the tipping point.
The average age of board directors around the world is 63.5 years old, and that number is climbing every year.
Which begs the question: how do you digitize the modern boardroom when it appears that boards are getting older and older, and are often hesitant to embrace technology? Why should you bother digitizing your board room at all?
Recently, we visited Singapore and had a live taping of an episode of The Corporate Director Podcast with Colin Low, Chairman of the Singapore Investment Development Corporation.
Communication and transparency go hand-in-hand.
Some organizations are known for making all of their communications public all the time. Others have reinvented themselves so often, you hardly know which version you’re dealing with.
When it comes to internal communication, clarity and transparency are key.
We recently sat down with Pamela Coles, a longtime governance professional and currently company secretary of Rolls Royce PLC, to discuss how Rolls Royce is putting into practice some great ideas to drive transparency, information sharing, and a robust organizational culture.
Diversity is an increasingly center-stage topic, in legislation, pop culture, and nearly every work environment. And there’s no place the effects of diversity are more far-reaching than in corporate board rooms.
On this episode, we sit down with Erin Lantz and Jonathan Nelson to discuss the facts on board diversity. Truly, there’s no one with more relevant perspectives better to discuss these issues than these two guests:
Erin Lantz is corporate director of TrueCar, and VP and GM of Mortgages for Zillow Group, and has an MBA from Harvard. She’s also part of what we call next-gen board directors (board members under 50).
Jonathan pulls his governance expertise from his 10+ years in governance research for a variety of firms. Currently, he is Head of Research at CGLytics, a corporate governance data and analytics platform that covers over 120K people across 5,000 companies. (He has an MA from George Mason.)
Digital disruption has impacted nearly every industry. Retail, transportation, and even certain parts of healthcare have been upended, as upstarts have supplanted long-standing companies. Research shows that half of the S&P 500 companies will be replaced over the next 10 years. What does that mean?
There’s no escaping digital disruption.
The forecast is pretty clear: Disrupt, or be disrupted.
We sat down with John Hinshaw, who’s held senior positions and directorships at various companies (like Sysco, Hewlett-Packard, & Verizon Wireless) to discuss how boards today are tackling technological unrest. John’s combined experience as a technology executive and as a director gives him a unique insight.
John Hinshaw is currently on the boards of Sysco, BNY Mellon, Docusign and Illumio.
Insights are lifeblood for directors. With today’s increasing flow of rapid data and information, directors want more data and more research, and they need it faster.
This week we show board members how to obtain those insights, which research to follow, and how to enable your board to leverage their individual strengths to ask the right questions.
This episode is hosted by Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day, with special guests Laurie Yoler and Annie Kors.
Laurie Yoler is on the boards of Church & Dwight, Bose, Zoox, and Noon Home. She is also a founding member of the board of directors for Tesla.
Annie Kors is the lead researcher for the Diligent Institute, the governance think tank and research arm for Diligent Corporation.
We are so excited to share with you our very first episode of The Corporate Director Podcast. We kicked off this podcast by interviewing two exceptional guests: Brian Stafford, President and CEO of Diligent Corporation and Betsy Atkins, serial entrepreneur, three-time CEO, and corporate governance & growth expert.
This episode is all about modern governance. We’re covering how the role of boards has changed over the past decade and what changes we can expect to see in the future. We know you’re going to love it.
It seems like there’s a podcast for everyone these days.
No matter what profession you’re in, if you search iTunes odds are you’ll find a podcast geared toward you.
But how many podcasts exist that are geared exclusively towards board members?
In the corporate governance space, the bar keeps getting higher. There’s a lack of good content out there helping directors navigate as they go.
We’re aiming to change that.
Welcome to The Corporate Director Podcast.