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. 

During the NACD Lead Director Symposium, sponsored by the KPMG Board Leadership Center, we explored the topic of disruptive risks—such as technological innovation, the Internet ...read more...

The growing drumbeat of investor activism isn’t just a trend; it’s a fundamental change in relationship between shareholders and companies. The past decade has seen activist investors pursuing more than 2,000 campaigns to redirect business strategies, activities, and resources, about 40 percent of which involved some form of merger or acquisition. In many cases, the activists actually forced assets into ...read more...

The pattern has repeated for decades. Corporations set high ethical goals, hire compliance staff, make all the right noises—and then misconduct harms or even destroys the company.  What are we doing wrong in battling corporate legal and ethics failures? What structural changes could make a real difference? 

Corporate boards and CEOs talk about business ethics and reducing ...read more...

The Covid-19 crisis is accelerating a shift toward a more integrated approach to corporate governance that has been gathering force for some time. The pandemic has put people’s lives, livelihoods and learning at the center of the public policy and business response in almost every country and industry sector. It has dramatically underscored the need for firms to engage proactively ...read more...

Overboarding is not always top of mind for boards, but considering the elevated risk that can reasonably result and what research has revealed, it should be a stronger concern for mitigation and reputation purposes.

There has not been a clear and universal definition of the problem, though one does exist (more on that later), and the practice is spawning more regular, important conversations.

It has been determin ...read more...

Friends,
Yes, we’re living in times of uncertainty with the weight of the unknown bearing down on all of us. Together we’re facing unprecedented challenges, and together we will work our way through them. As a board member, your leadership has never been more needed.
In this spirit, we share our collective wisdom to help our community of board members be the beacons of le ...read more...

For years, corporate and nonprofit boards have worked to increase diversity in their own ranks. Research shows the benefits of diversity, and shareholders, employees, customers and business partners are increasingly pushing for their organizational leadership to better represent the demographics of the general U.S. population. In response, the percentage of women on Fortune 500 boards rose to 22.5 percent in 2018, ...read more...

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 incentive to do so. Carney was talking about climate change. But his warning can be read as a routine job description for boa ...read more...

Bringing a new C-level executive on board is always fraught with risk: Any misstep can be expensive and embarrassing. As a result, companies may play it safe by looking for someone with just the right CV or perhaps a recent stint at a high-flying competitor. Who does the board like? What will the analysts think?

The challenge has become even more daunting as an increasing number of companies use their culture as a point of diff ...read more...