5/29/25 – Issue 10.21 – Your weekly news on all things board. 

CEO shortage? Departures from the corner office continue at a record pace and have revealed a shrinking bench of willing and qualified successors. Some suggest that would-be chief executives are simply sitting out the current political and market turbulence. Others find that next-gen senior leaders are exiting for opportunities that may fast-track their success, and leaving behind a thin bench. Taken together, many boards see a looming C-suite succession crisis. The timing is hardly ideal, with directors acknowledging that U.S. companies face higher levels of risk today due to tariffs, supply chain uncertainties, recession concerns and more. Other risks boards are concerned about include the lack of AI fluency in most boardrooms and the manipulation of facts that can erode trust in companies and their messaging. To succeed in such volatile times, boards and management teams both need great leaders. So, despite the challenges, forward-thinking boards will undoubtedly make CEO succession planning a priority, recognizing its importance among all the risks they must monitor.

In the Spotlight

The Governance Imperative of CEO Departures

In an era of relentless volatility, the CEO role has become a high-risk, low-reward proposition

“We are living through a silent crisis in corporate leadership—one that is accelerating. CEO exits reached record highs in 2024, and early 2025 is trending even higher. While headlines cite burnout and compensation disputes, the deeper story is more troubling: fewer qualified leaders want the job. This isn't just a talent pipeline issue. It’s a governance liability, a financial risk, and a failure of leadership strategy that sits squarely at the intersection of HR, finance, and board oversight.” FORBES

Getting Ahead of The Looming C-Suite Succession Crisis

Getting ahead of the crisis of next generation C-suite leader turnover requires a multifaceted approach that combines effective succession planning, tailored and continuous development, and cultural alignment

“In today’s exceedingly volatile business landscape, one thing remains true: no company can outperform its leadership…. An alarming 71% of next generation C-suite leaders are considering a career move outside their current employer, with turnover intentions increasing by 14 percentage points over the past two years. What’s driving this desire to leave? Career advancement (47%), seeking different type of leadership (36%), seeking new responsibilities (35%) and seeking a different company culture (30%) are top reasons for next generation C-suite leaders’ high turnover intent.” HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FORUM ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Building a Better Relationship Between the CEO and Board

Few relationships are as consequential—or as delicate—as the one between a CEO and the board of directors

“Navigating the central tension of this relationship—the board’s need for transparency and influence versus the CEO’s desire for autonomy—is critical. Yet while conventional wisdom emphasizes openness and communication, our research shows that the timing and structure of interactions matter more than volume. It’s not how much, but when and how a CEO interacts with the board that will determine the success of the relationship. Based on 90 interviews with first-time CEOs... we analyzed how CEO-board relationships evolved over the critical first three years of a CEO’s tenure. We found that dysfunctional relationships resulted not from a lack of communication or transparency, but from the misaligned timing of interactions, poorly defined boundaries, and subtle but critical shifts in power.” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

From Boardspan this Week:

From the Shareholder’s Seat: How Boards Earn and Keep Investor Trust 
 Wednesday, June 11, 2025 
 2pm ET

Join our upcoming webinar with BlackRock co-founder Barbara Novick. Barbara Novick has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern approach to investor stewardship and board engagement. She is a co-founder of BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, was Vice Chair until 2021, and now serves as Senior Advisor. In this timely conversation with Abby Adlerman, CEO of Boardspan, Barbara will share her perspective on how boards can build stronger relationships with their shareholder base—whether institutional, long- or short-term, or retail—and navigate the growing complexity of the governance landscape. 

Across the Board

Poll Finds U.S. Boards Struggling to Navigate Washington ‘Mess’

As tariffs, inflation and sourcing disruptions grow, America’s public-company boardrooms are fighting to manage the moment

“The extent of the impact from the current administration is extensive. Directors rate the current risk level for U.S. companies at 6.8 out of 10, on a scale where 1 is Negligible and 10 is Significant, with 81 percent of the 126 public company board members polled May 12-14 listing tariffs as the top business risk today. Second on the list? A tie at 46 percent between two other Washington-created challenges: ‘supply chain / sourcing disruptions’ and ‘inflation and currency fluctuations’ (the survey asked directors to list their top three challenges). The third and fourth picks were D.C.-driven as well: geopolitics and regulatory changes. To cope, directors say they are looking at increasing the frequency of their board’s strategy and risk conversations (42 percent) and making better use of new AI tools for real-time data and risk analysis (35 percent).” CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER

The Campaign Goldman’s CEO Waged to Silence Powerful Internal Critics

David Solomon was under siege from partners critical of his leadership; the firm launched a probe to identify leakers

“It was bad enough that Goldman partners were criticizing the chief executive’s leadership and bad-mouthing the storied bank’s costly expansion of consumer lending. What rankled Solomon even more was the suspicion that some of the naysayers were leaking details to reporters…. Solomon was going through a brutal stretch in 2022 and 2023. The consumer lending expansion that he had spearheaded was generating billions of dollars in losses. It was hurting Goldman’s stock, moneymaking partners were leaving and Solomon had taken flak for his attention-grabbing side gig DJing. Solomon told Goldman’s board that he was going to take action, pushing out troublemakers who he said were undermining him with their leaks, people familiar with the matter said. The board told Solomon he had their support. By last year, longtime executives who had openly criticized his strategy were gone. The departures sent a message inside Goldman: No one is safe if they go up against the CEO.” WALL STREET JOURNAL

Anthropic Appoints Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings to AI Startup’s Board of Directors

Hastings has held other high-profile board positions in the tech sector, including at Microsoft, Bloomberg and Meta

“Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic said Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings is joining its board of directors. Hastings, who co-founded Netflix in 1997 and served as CEO (and eventually co-CEO) of the streaming giant until 2023, was appointed to the board by Anthropic’s Long Term Benefit Trust, an independent body of five financially disinterested members…. Anthropic, which was valued earlier this year at $61.5 billion, is trying to keep pace in an AI arms race with competitors like OpenAI, Google and Microsoft, while also professing the importance of AI safety.” CNBC

Governance of AI: A Critical Imperative for Today’s Boards
66% of directors say their boards don’t know enough about AI

“Deloitte’s State of Generative AI in the Enterprise Q4 2024 Report finds that organizations have improved their preparedness in the critical areas of technology infrastructure and strategy, but preparedness has seemingly not improved in the critical area of risk and governance…. Nearly one-third (31%) of respondents say AI is not on the board agenda. In the previous survey, 45 percent said the same (a change of 14 percentage points). More boards getting up to speed on AI: Two-thirds of respondents (66%) say their boards still have ‘limited to no knowledge or experience’ with AI. However, this is an improvement from the 79 percent who said the same in the previous survey (a change of 13 percentage points). An increase in the time boards spend on AI: One-third (33%) of respondents are ‘not satisfied’ or ‘concerned’ with the amount of time their boards devote to discussing AI…. AI’s influence on board makeup: Two out of five respondents say AI has caused them to think differently about their boards’ makeup—a slight increase (4 percentage points) from the previous finding." HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FORUM ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Importance of Clarity and Authenticity for Boards
A boardroom call to action in an era of eroding trust

“We are now living in what some analysts call the ‘post-truth era’ — a time when facts are routinely distorted, messaging is engineered for optics and stakeholder trust is increasingly fragile. For boards, this is more than a communications dilemma. It's a governance challenge with real implications for risk oversight, strategic clarity and enterprise value. As fiduciaries, directors are charged not only with capital stewardship, but also with safeguarding corporate character. Messaging – whether in financial disclosures, media appearances or stakeholder statements – must be technically accurate and believable. Consider the recent backlash against ESG disclosures. Firms like Deutsche Bank's DWS and Goldman Sachs have faced regulatory scrutiny and investor lawsuits over claims of misleading sustainability reporting. Once seen as progressive transparency, ESG messaging is now a litmus test for authenticity. When words outpace reality, the board must act.” DIRECTORS & BOARDS

When Boards Ask for Too Much: How Risk Oversight Can Backfire

Facing a constant barrage of complex risks, many boards form special committees and flood general counsel with document requests. But is this helping—or hindering—governance?

“Board members and the general counsel have long enjoyed a close working relationship. The company’s highest-ranking legal officer provides expert legal counsel to directors to navigate complex risks. When these risks evolve into a tangled web of convoluted information, the board leans more on the GC, straining their close relationship. To flatten their learning curve on the strategic and operational risks caused by generative AI, cybersecurity and technology innovation, many boards have formed dedicated committees, task forces and ad hoc committees. As they conduct deep dives into these topics, directors are requesting voluminous business records and other documents from the GC….. Delving so deeply could push directors into dangerous legal territory.” CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER

Seat at the Table

• PG&E Corporation elects to its board John Larsen, former CEO of Alliant Energy Corporation

• Honeywell appoints to its board Marc Steinberg, Partner at Elliott Investment Management

• AutoZone names to its board Constantino Spas Montesinos, CEO of the Proximity Americas and the Mobility Division at beverage firm FEMSA

• Agriproducts firm Universal Corporation adds to its board Fay Manolios, former Managing Vice President and Head of Total Rewards at Capital One Financial Corporation

• Climate-control firm Lennox welcomes to its board Tracy Embree, former President of Otis Americas, a division of Otis Worldwide

• Rapid Micro Biosystems announces to its board Dr. Dafni Bika, SVP and Global Head of Pharmaceutical Technology and Development at AstraZeneca plc

• Decarbonization firm ClearSign Technologies adds to its board Anthony DiGiandomenico, Chief of Transactions at MDB Capital Holdings; and Lou Basenese, EVP of Market Strategy for energy firm Prairie Operating

• Mass-printing firm Cimpress elects to its board Wayne Ting, CEO of electric vehicle firm Lime

• Southland appoints to its board Tan Parker, Texas Senator

About Boardspan
Boardspan helps boards raise the bar on their critical governance mandates by combining cutting edge digital capabilities with high-touch consulting services. They are leaders in board assessments, individual director & CEO evaluations, board succession strategy & search, skills & composition analyses, and bespoke advisory work. Boardspan’s focus is entirely on boards, delivering deep experience, objectivity, an analytical orientation, and insight-driven recommendations. Boardspan works with public, private and non-profit organizations across all verticals including consumer, healthcare, financial services, technology, industrials and non-profit. Specific clients include Archer Daniels Midland, Autodesk, Blue Shield (CA), Boston Beer Company, Colgate-Palmolive, e.l.f. Beauty, HubSpot, Ingersoll Rand, KKR, Lam Research, the PGA, Roblox, Salesforce, the USOPC, and scores more.