The dearth of female leaders in corporate America is well established. For example, at the end of 2020, fewer than eight percent of companies in the S&P 500 were woman-led. One way to address this gender imbalance would be to increase female representation on corporate boards. Not only are boa...

Audit committee chairs may find resonance in the phrase “tragedy of the horizon”, an expression coined in 2015 by Bank of England governor Mark Carney, which refers to the paradox that arises when market actors must take urgent action to address a long-term risk—but have no observable short-term ...

Company culture is inextricably linked with strategy and operations. It involves the selection and assessment of senior leaders. It impacts a company's growth and risk. It influences its competitiveness. And as such, culture should be overseen by the company’s board of directors. Regulators in...

Board diversity—or rather the lack thereof—has never been under more scrutiny. In recent years, money managers like BlackRock and State Street have called for more diversity across corporate boardrooms, with the latter going so far as to announce it would begin voting against companies without...

Agile: A good watchword for 2021. After a year filled with unimagined challenges, we are all eager for better times, a new “normal,” or at least some predictability. We're feeling optimistic, yet we can't know what's coming next. So, we offer some insights to help your board greet the future with...

For a company to function effectively, the management team and the board of directors must be in general alignment. When problems brew between the board and the C-suite, the reasons can often be traced to poor relational competence. Relational competencies have been studied in business from th...

With 247 special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) going public in 2020 and another 298 in the first quarter of 2021, SPAC sponsors have knocked on many doors to find directors. If you are invited to join a SPAC board, what questions should you ask? What will be required of me? SPAC ...

The kids are back to school, soccer practice is in full swing, and the days are getting shorter. Fall is upon us, and with the return to routine after a delightful summer reprieve, your non-profit board meetings are once again back in session.  Which brings to light the oft-lamented question, jus...

Envisioning a company’s future is hard and imprecise work. But it’s increasingly clear that dedicating time to think about the future is vital to navigating the disruptive risks that are shaking up industries and upending business models.  Here we explore the topic of disruptive risks—such as ...

When the Harvard Business Review named Pablo Isla of Spanish retailer Inditex the Top CEO of 2017, it may have struck some as an odd choice. “Measured on financial returns alone, Isla comes in 18th in our ranking,” reads the article accompanying the list. But, it continues, “his company’s perform...

From Colonial Pipeline, to Acer, to JBS USA, cyberattacks have dominated the headlines throughout 2021. These attacks have become more sophisticated, more costly, and more harmful than ever due to the very real threat of cybercriminals stealing an organization's (and customers') sensitive informa...

C-suites have adapted to the tumultuous environment created by the global pandemic, and only a few could have predicted the rebound occurring in specific geographies and sectors so quickly. While the rapid pace of economic expansion has been a welcome opportunity for certain businesses, the lo...