It’s clear that corporate boards have a lot on their plate. From climate change to cybercrime, there is no shortage of emerging risks that demand directors’ attention. How can boards best oversee these matters while balancing existing obligations? Could a new committee be the solution? How you...

Environmental, social and governance reporting has come into its own as a discipline, with most companies now issuing sustainability reports. What’s the board’s and executive team’s role in ensuring that these reports are responsive to investor needs? An estimated 95 percent of the S&P 500 pub...

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...

Given the enormous risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and a renewed focus on social justice issues across the United States and globe, boards that have begun to address ESG issues in a material fashion will be better positioned to navigate current and future challenges. Below, we examine fi...

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 ...

Like musicians in an orchestra, board members bring unique skills to their work that can create a successful harmony – or calamitous discord. Without effective leadership, even the most talented musicians will be unable to see how their melody fits into the larger tune. Conductors, like Committee...

The recent successes of shareholder activists against Big Oil this proxy season are one of many signs of mounting and effective pressure from investors on public companies to enhance their performance and disclosures on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. As ESG rises in promine...

Pressures on corporate boards to address environmental, social, and governance concerns are stronger than ever. The good news is that by investing in these areas even without an immediate commercial payoff, companies can bolster their long-term positions with both the stock market and society. ...

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...

It’s an exciting time to be in the boardroom. Everyone knows the board’s job is bigger, more demanding, and far more important than ever before. Board members are embracing a larger portfolio of responsibilities and deeper engagement with an array of issues. You are listening to more constituenci...