Podcasts about board effectiveness

Send us a MessageIn this episode, Sue interviews Charisse Oland about her experiences and lessons learned in healthcare leadership and governance. Charisse highlights real world examples of strengthening leadership and governance as pathways to creating stronger organizations, including improving results and a more positive and thriving workplace culture. The conversation emphasizes the need to focus on positive behaviors and reinforce them, rather than dwelling on what went wrong.Episode Insights and TakeawaysEngaging employees in conversations about what the values mean in their daily behaviors is crucial.Focus on positive feedback and building each other up and reinforcing positive behaviors.Building stronger, thriving workplaces necessitates the nurturing of collaborative behaviors and maximizing board and leadership effectivenessCreating an effective board requires varied backgrounds and expertise, and also a great culture of leadership and collaboration.

Dr Dembkowski has led board reviews for firms across the FTSE 100 and DAX amongst others, and her academic work on the subject is internationally recognised and peer-reviewed. Tune in to her conversation with Nurole CEO Oliver Cummings to hear her thoughts on: Why do a board review? (1:38) Are private companies less inclined to board review, and if so, why? (4:29) What do you say to those who think board reviews are ineffective and overpriced? (6:29) Where do boards most commonly go wrong with reviews? (8:39) What is the most important data to capture in board reviews?  (12:58) Given the impossibility of an A|B test, how do we know what “effective” looks like? (14:27) What are the key factors that go to your definition of board effectiveness (18:39) What characteristics do the worst boards have in common? (25:47) Should we review individuals or the board as a whole? (27:21) What can boards do to better implement feedback? (28:56) Should board reviews look at the board's ability to undertake specific tasks like hiring and firing the CEO? (31:05) How valuable do you think observers are for making boards more effective?  (33:35) What aspects of board reviews are you sceptical about? (36:03) and ⚡The Lightning Round ⚡(37:26)   Show notes and transcript available at https://www.nurole.com/news-and-guides

Follow me to see #HeadsTalk Podcast Audiograms every Monday on LinkedInEpisode Title:-

Carey Oven, National Managing Partner of Deloitte's Center for Board Effectiveness, talks about Deloitte's 7th annual "Missing Pieces" report on the makeup of boards of directors and how to make them more diverse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My wife and I were sitting down with two sleepy dogs tonight and working on completing the jigsaw we'd started a few days ago. A pretty scene of Venetian canals at sunset, we'd decided that in this cost of living crisis, buying a jigsaw of Venice was a better use of our bank balance than a week on the Grand Canal.In the last few months I've been working with several clients on figuring out how they fit in a leadership team when they don't fit the traditional mould.  Hovering a jigsaw piece over the puzzle, I'd been staring at that Venetian gondola for a while trying to figure out how it all went together. Then I realised that I didn't have my jigsaw piece the right way round. A quick 180 degree spin and suddenly the picture slotted into place.--https://garycrotaz.com

Lead a life of conviction not by consequences| Prabir Jha | #TGV275The first word in the phrase, “personal brand” is “personal.” Now add an “ity” to it, drop the “brand” and that's what it really means. That's the secret.~ADAM RITCHIESpecial thanks to Jagdish Belwal for making this episode happen.Tune into #TGV275 to get clarity on the above topic. Here are the timestamp-based pointers from Prabir Jha's (Civil Servant turned CHRO turned Influencer, Executive Coach, and Advisoryconversation with Naveen Samala0:00:00 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT SETTING - TGV275 episodes in 898 days0:04:30 Prabir's PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY 0:06:45 THE TOP 3 THINGS THAT HELPED Prabir Jha in his SUCCESS (Leading a life of conviction not by consequences, Staying Vulnerable by jumping out of his comfort zone, Building Great teams by hiring people smarter than him)0:09:00 What prompted him to get into the advisory domain? (Impacting 100s of companies and 1000s of leaders)0:12:15 How organizational culture impacts the companies? Is there a good culture vs bad culture?0:15:00 Who is a great leader? When does someone embark on their leadership journey?0:18:00 How important is Personal branding for leaders to succeed in today's VUCA world?0:22:00 Where should people focus their energy? What can bring happiness to someone?0:26:00 Why companies and leaders should transform and how to drive transformation in any organization?0:30:00 What is it to be a LinkedIn influencer with 550K+ followers - What leaders should focus on while building their clout on social media? How do you maintain the passion and rigor of posting content on daily basis?0:34:00 WITTY ANSWERS TO THE RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS (Interesting questions)0:39:30 ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO THOSE ASPIRING TO MAKE BIG IN THEIR CAREERS 0:41:30 TRIVIA ABOUT Charismatic Leadership ABOUT THE GUEST:A #LinkedIn Power Profile, a TEDx speaker, columnist, and active Tweeter. A HumanResources strategist with diverse industry experience, from civil service to engineering, Information Technology, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and a conglomeration of Hydrocarbons, retail, media, and telecom/ digital services. His personal goal is to support each person he touches/comes across on his/ her journey to become a better professional and more importantly, a more complete person. hence, spending time on coaching, mentoring, career advice, and even being a simple Agony Aunt is important to him because it touches the lives of people so deeply. Currently, he advises a range of companies - from start-ups to large corporations - across a range of domains on Strategic HR issues including Board Effectiveness, Talent & Leadership, Organizational Transformation, Culture Renewal, Executive Coaching, Employer Branding, and the odd talent search. Prabir Jha, an alumnus of St. Stephen's College, Delhi, and XLRI Jamshedpur is the Founder &CEO of Prabir Jha People Advisory, a boutique platform for retained strategic advisory, talentsearch & executive coaching. Follow Prabir Jha:https://www.linkedin.com/in/prabir-jha-991a5a10/?originalSubdomain=inhttps://twitter.com/PrabirJhahttps://www.instagram.com/prabir.jha/?hl=enCONNECT WITH THE HOST ON LINKEDIN:Naveen Samala: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naveensamalaFOLLOW ON TWITTER:@guidingvoice@naveensamala Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boards are an important part of corporate governance in most organizations, but an effective board is not the same as good governance. Background music is Of the Stars by KC Roberts & the Live Revolution   SCRIPT: I said earlier this season that board effectiveness and good governance aren't the same. When I say “board effectiveness” what does it mean to you? I even struggle with this one, which is troubling given that my company is called “Fullbrook Board Effectiveness.” My URL is even boardeffectiveness.ca. If anyone would have a pithy, inspiring definition of board effectiveness it would be me, right? Let's put that aside for a second and ask another question: “If your board is effective, whatever that means, do you automatically have good governance?” Thinking through the previous episodes from this season, we already know that good governance isn't box ticking compliance, it's not good operational performance, it's not succession planning, etc. I don't even think it's all of those things mushed together. On top of that, I think we'll all instinctively feel like having a great board is somehow also not enough to have good governance. Even amazing boards are still reliant on great managers to help them to access the right information at the right time, facilitate great meetings, generate exciting strategic options, and so on. So already we know that great boards are only POTENTIALLY great unless they have great management. But a great board would always hire great managers, right? That one gets a “lol” from me. Anyone who's ever had responsibility for hiring and promoting people knows that no matter how perfect your processes, you can never guarantee you'll get it right. There are other ways we could explore this question, but I think I'm already convinced that board effectiveness and good governance aren't the same thing. But what is board effectiveness? I'm open to suggestions, but for now let's steal from our definition of good governance a few episodes back. Board effectiveness is when a board is working to create conditions  in the organization that maximize the likelihood that effective decisions will get made.

In this episode I interview charity sector CEO Steve Woolcock, who became a first-time CEO last year when taking on the top job at educational charity First Rung, an organisation that exists to provide learning and employment opportunities to support young people in the UK to achieve success and fulfil their potential. Steve talks eloquently about how he worked on unlocking his natural talents and strengths, helping him to find his feet in the CEO role, define his unique leadership style and bring his best to this amazing charity.First Rung: http://www.firstrung.org.uk/Barnardo's: https://www.barnardos.org.uk/Steve Woolcock on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-woolcock-47365610/First Rung on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-rung-limited/

Only 29 percent of C-suite executives rate their board's effectiveness as good or excellent.  And 74 percent of executives say two or more of their directors should be replaced. That's despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of C-suite executives say their boards understand the company's strategy, risks and opportunities, and competitive landscape -- and that nearly 90 percent say their directors have independent judgment and are willing to challenge management.  In this podcast, Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center, speaks with Leah Malone, Director of the Governance Insights Center at PwC, and author of Board Effectiveness: A Survey of the C-suite (2021 Edition)  to discuss what's driving the gap between board performance and expectations, how the C-suite's view of the board compares to what directors see when they look in the mirror, and several practical steps that companies can take to close the gap. Additional Resources: Toward Stakeholder Capitalism

In this episode, Ross takes his decades of experience and offers some tips on upping the efficiency level of a non-profit entity. You're The Champion by MaxKoMusic | https://maxkomusic.com/ Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en_US

March 15, 2022 - Super Agent Marc Guss and Board Effectiveness Helle Bank Jorgensen

In this episode, we discuss board effectiveness and how to achieve the most from your meetings

It surprises me that I've never talked about the impact that senior executives have on the effectiveness of their boards.  So here we go!

Awareness grows that we need people around the table that bring in different perspectives to tackle the challenges of today. However, let´s face it, different perspectives in the boardroom can also be challenging and difficult to handle. Not seldom have I heard that a Directors who bring different perspectives to the table is are perceived to be “difficult”, “annoying”, and “hard to deal with”. It needs skills to turn a different perspective into a value add. I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.  

Maria Castañón Moats is the leader of PwC's Governance Insights Center and previously served as the firm's Chief Diversity officer.  In this episode she discusses the critical importance of incorporating diversity - and a clear understanding by board members of the board's role - to achieve board effectiveness.     Thanks for listening! We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here.     Links: Maria Castañón Moats Bio   PwC's 2021 Annual Corporate Directors Survey   ESG oversight Corporate Directors Guide     Quotes:   “I am a woman, a Mexican-American woman, and admittedly, I did not know much about diversity and inclusion before taking the role [as Chief Diversity Officer at PwC]. I grew up in a small town in West Texas - El Paso - where everybody looked like me, so my diversity journey really started when I graduated from UT El Paso and started moving East all the way to New York. I like to share that because I don't want people to assume that I was an expert coming into that role.”   “When I was leading diversity, we would often say that feedback is a gift because if people aren't giving you good feedback, they probably don't care about you very much.”   “'Why would boards really lean into this [diversity] and really give great advice to management?' Because that's what boards do, they give advice to management, they provide that oversight.”       Big Ideas/Thoughts:   One of my goals was getting the board of directors leadership to be more diverse.  Our CEO was very open to not only diversifying the leadership team, but also thinking about how you get a more diverse board. A question to be asked about board effectiveness is: how diverse is that board?  How diverse are their experiences? And is that diversity and those experiences appropriate given the times we live in today with all the social changes, with climate, everything we talk about on ESG. How does that fit for the purpose of today and the future and not necessarily yesterday?   Board effectiveness really means “what's the value of the board to an organization.” And in particular, what's the value of the board to that management team and to that CEO?  Are they really giving the CEO the right advice on strategy and the risks associated with that strategy? Are they really those trusted advisors, and then are they exercising this fiduciary responsibility to shareholders and stakeholders at large? As you know, Joe, what investors want today is to see the numbers.  I tell people when I meet with directors, it's not that they just want to kind of understand your demographics and get a baseline, but they really want to understand the goals and where you're going as an organization, then as a board, how you hold management accountable to those goals based on what metrics and data.That's what investors are looking for.   Offboarding.  We need to critically say to ourselves, "The feedback is telling me I probably have given all the best I could to this board, and I should now move on, and, oh, by the way, maybe I can sponsor someone to come onto this board. Maybe that's the last big thing I can do here, and maybe it's someone that's not from the familiar network, someone I've been mentoring to get onto a board."   What I think that's different when you think about climate versus diversity is we've been talking about diversifying boardrooms and management teams for decades, and that pace has been, let's just say, unacceptable, until recently.  There's a need to accelerate that pace of change. With climate, it's going to accelerate much faster, people want to see change much faster. We're not going to get a ten-year timeframe to act on climate change and related risks.

The role of an Executive differs from that of a Non-Executive on a board. The hands-on qualities that are appreciated in an Executive setting might be experiences as interference by management if applied in a board role. Some CEOs make a move to chairman without missing a beat. They understand how to leverage their executive experience and won't interfere with their decisions unless the long-term interests of the business and its stakeholders are threatened. Others, it's fair to say, aren't quite so enlightened and fuel preconceptions that put up barriers for those that wish to make the transition. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am thrilled to talk with Steve Holliday. Steve has been Chief Executive Officer of the FTSE100 organisation National Grid for ten years and has successfully transitioned to Chair and Non-Executive Director.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.  

The Parker review displayed the status of racial diversity on board in the UK and set targets. Progress in appointing Directors with an ethnical background is slow and targets set by the Parker Review for the UK are missed. A group of senior leaders has come together and is committed to taking action to increase racial and ethical diversity in their businesses.  What are their motives? What challenges do they face? Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, Dr Sabine Dembkowski talks with Richard DeNetto from the CBI about increasing racial and ethical diversity on FTSE boards. As our loyal listeners know, our aim is to inspire, share good practice and offer ideas about how you can create more effective and high-performing boards. Richard heads up the initiative Change the Race Ratio. He is close to the over 90 signatories and understands the challenges in initiating change.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards.Richard DeNetto was Associate Director for the CBI East of England before joining the team to launch Change the Race Ratio alongside business leaders in Aviva, Deloitte and Schroders.  Richard has a track record of running people related businesses and operations across both management and director level staffing firms and as the CIPD's Chair for Cambridgeshire and Treasurer for Mid and North Anglia.  Improving Ethnic and Racial diversity in business is personally important to Richard.  Richard is of mixed ethnicity Asian and White.  Is father's side of the family are proudly Anglo Indian emigrating to the UK from India in the 60's.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.     

We are all clear that we want to create effective and high-performing boards. A whole industry has developed around board evaluations. Some are cynical about this. Academics and consultants propose different models and solutions. In my view, there is no right or wrong. Different approaches work in a different context. We find that the most crucial part is that board have data, gain insights and act. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Ralph Schubert about creating a high-performance culture in the boardroom. As our loyal listeners know, our aim is to inspire, share good practice and give you ideas about how you can create more effective and high-performing boards. Ralph comes to this subject from a different angle than governance professionals. He has worked for many years with winning teams in Formula 1 and applies now his insights and learnings in boardrooms across Europe.  I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards.Ralph Schubert is a Senior Partner at Coverdale Team Management in Germany. For years he worked with the most successful Formula 1 and DTM racing teams. His intimate understanding of winning teams leads to the development of his thinking and approach to peak performance and culture. Today he applies the learning from Formula 1 in his work with boards of German DAX organisations. Ralph studied Computer Science and started his career as a System Analyst. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.    

Much has been written about the roles of executives and non-executives on boards and mostly from a pure governance perspective. What is often missing is the clarity and the practical relevance. Alignment comes before effectiveness.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Jim Haudan about “Going beyond governance – The art of talking about what really matters”. I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards Jim Haudan is Co-founder, and Chief Executive Officer of Root Learning and has more than 20 years of experience helping organisations and individuals unleash hidden potential by fully engaging people in the critical changes of their business. He has worked with thousands of leaders around the globe and many Fortune 500 boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.        

Much has been written about the roles of executives and non-executives on boards and mostly from a pure governance perspective. What is often missing is the clarity and the practical relevance. Alignment comes before effectiveness.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Ken Schuetz about "The Alignment of Executives and Non-Executives in the Boardroom".I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards. Ken Schuetz is the creator of the Aligned Influence model. He invested the first 25 years of his career as an executive at the University of Colorado, and where he currently is a member of the teaching faculty of the Leeds School of Business. Ken has served on the boards of schools, churches, and non-profits as well as the chairman of the Substantial Services Taskforce for the National Education Broadband Service Association and the International Development Committee for St. Vrain Valley Habitat for Humanity.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.       

During the pandemic, we all got used to working virtually. The business of Zoom has exploded and it is such a common feature in our lives that it has become a verb. We are all zooming. As restrictions are eased, the discussion is heating up about what the “new normal” looks like. The CEO of Zoom expects sales to rise more than 40% this year. Some organisations order there employees back into the office while others announce that their employees are free to work from anywhere. The future of work has arrived. What do boards need to think about? What does it mean for the controls of the business?Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with John Mongelard about Hybrid working and controls – What should boards think about?I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards.John Mongelard leads ICAEW's programme on financial services issues that have a risk or regulation theme. In his role, he looks at how financial services issues such as misconduct, crypto-currencies, corporate governance and IFRS 9 are influencing financial services firms, their regulators and lending to the real economy. John joined ICAEW from the Prudential Regulation Authority. John worked in various supervision roles and looked at the large UK banks, international banks and insurance companies. He has undertaken risk assessment work on bank capital, business models, risk management frameworks and corporate governance. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.      

The revised UK Corporate Governance Code places a great emphasis on the importance of culture within a business and is seen as a blueprint for corporate governance around the world.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Mike Gahir, Chair of the Board of Trustee at Steps to Work about "Culture, it all starts in the boardroom" Mike was a winner at this year's Non-Executive Director Awards in the UK as the ‘NED to watch'. He was praised by the judges for overhauling the leadership and transparency at Steps to Work.Mike stresses the importance he himself places on culture in the work he has achieved so far.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.     

Anthony Goodman, Senior Client Partner & Head of the Board Effectiveness Practice at Korn Ferry, rejoins the podcast to discuss how Engine No. 1, a purpose-driven investment firm with a small stake in ExxonMobil, won 3 executive board seats by identifying the company's failure to evolve and pushing for a move towards renewables. We also break down how climate has come roaring back to the forefront of corporate governance agenda, why inclusion is just as important as diversity in the boardroom and within the organization, and the future of ESG.

There is a rising tide of investors, communities and talent caring about ESG issues. No longer is it surprising to see ESG feature more prominently on the agendas in boardrooms.It is no longer acceptable to invest in a business for profits alone when those with poor practices can have such a profoundly negative impact on the world around us. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Margot Slattery, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at ISS A/S about "Putting the 'S' in ESG"Born in Ireland, Margot was one of the key contributors to the country's Same-sex Marriage Act, particularly in the business sphere. Before her current role with ISS, she was Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Sodexo.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 10 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.    

M&A and transactions are no longer considered an add-on, but a pivotal part of a company's value creation process.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Nickesha Graham-Burrell, Head of Company Secretariat at OSB Group Plc about "The role of the Company Secretary in major transactions".I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards.Nickesha is an experienced Company Secretary, who has previously worked within HSBC and Songbird Estates. This year she was a winner within the ‘Deal Maker' category of the DMJ Recruitment Governance Hot 100 awards. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot.  

The role of the Company Secretary is evolving and is not clearly defined. Company Secretaries who are proactive and take the initiative can shape the role so that it really suits them, and help improve the board as a whole.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with John Mills, Company Secretary of Smiths Group plc about 'The role of the Company Secretary in increasing the effectiveness of Non-Executive Directors'.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards. John joined Smiths Group in 2018 and has previously held senior roles in a variety of sectors, including at Anglo American plc, RSA Insurance Group plc and Cadbury plc.This year, John was named a DMJ Recruitment Governance Hot 100 awards winner in the category of Board Influencer. This category is for individuals that influence strategic decision making at the most senior level and are particularly adept at forging relationships with key stakeholders.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot. 

Good reporting is crucial for any high performing and effective board. But how can you ensure your reporting process is delivering for your board?Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with David Whincup, Deputy Company Secretary at Provident Financial Group, about 'Board Reporting; the indispensable part of effective Boards'I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes.To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards. Before his role with Provident Financial Group, David previously held roles with the National Grid and Reckitt Benckiser. This year, David was named in the DMJ Recruitment Governance Hot 100 awards as a winner in the ‘Governance Trailblazers' category. This category recognised forward-thinkers who went beyond expectations to raise the standard of Corporate Governance.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot. 

Boards today face technological, geopolitical, demographic, and environmental changes at an incredibly rapid pace. How can Company Secretaries help ensure boards are ‘Future-fit' to be able to tackle these changes effectively?Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Loren Wulfsohn, Global Head of Policy and Stakeholder Engagement, Corporate Governance & Secretariat at HSBC about ‘The role of the Company Secretary in creating future-fit boards'.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who care about creating better boards.Before her current role, Loren was Company Secretary of HSBC Bank plc and Regional Company Secretary for Europe. She has previously been Head of Shareholder Services at HSBC and was formerly Group Secretary and Head of Governance at Standard Bank Group for 10 years. Loren moved to Australia in 2012, where she consulted on strategic governance and board practice to a range of both financial and not-for-profit entities in Australia, the US and across Africa, prior to her move to the UK.  This year, Loren was also voted one of the Hot 100 for innovation by the DMJ Recruitment Governance Hot 100 awards.  Loren draws upon her experience from her governance career across HSBC and Standard Bank Group to provide real, practical advice for how Company Secretaries can ensure a board is ‘future-fit'. This includes insights into the behaviours and skills Company Secretaries should be prioritising to be at their most effective. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot. 

Much has been written and said about gender diversity and inclusion. Progress has been made, but we have still a way to go to achieve gender parity.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Sabine Kohleisen, member of the Board of Management at Mercedes-Benz AG, responsible for Human Resources and Director of Labour Relations, and Denise Wilson, CEO of the Hampton-Alexander Review. In this episode, we will be discussing “Diversity and inclusion, insights from the U.K. and Mercedes-Benz”.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards.Sabine and Denise provide real-life insights into achievements, measures and practical tips for individuals and organizations about how to bring diversity and inclusion to life. Sabine is someone who has risen through the ranks of Mercedes and as a member of the Board of Management is responsible for achieving the next stage of diversity targets. Denise, who as the CEO of the Hampton-Alexander Review, shapes the debate about gender diversity with facts and figures like no other in the U.K.The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Studies provide clear evidence that boards with members of diverse backgrounds govern organisations that have better business results than those with less diverse leaders but it does not stop there.  We see similar patterns when it comes to innovation. The Hampton Alexander report in the UK highlights that we have come a long way in integrating women on the board, but there is still quite a way to go when we look at race and reviews like the Parker Review.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Chris Pirnie about “Punks in the boardroom.” Chris provides us with facts, figures and real-life insights into the challenges of integrating people with diverse backgrounds and what he has seen is working. I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Christopher Pirnie has been a company secretary and board member for over 20 years with organisations such as Swiss Re, E&Y, Clifford Chance and previously was Head of Secretariat and Director of Governance Operations and Policy at Fidelity International for over a decade.  Leaving Fidelity in 2020, Christopher joined Kuberno Consulting and has also set up his own governance professional coaching group, RPP NextStep Coaching, which provides tools and guidance to company secretaries, INEDs and executive directors with their career challenges and development needs.   This year, Christopher was also voted one of the Hot 100 for innovation by the DMJ Recruitment Governance Hot 100 awards.  The Better Boards Podcast has been selected as one of the Top 15 Corporate Governance Podcasts by Feedspot. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Deb DeHaas recently joined Corporate Leadership Center as CEO, following her retirement from Deloitte as Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner for the Center of Board Effectiveness. An active member of multiple boards and civic organizations, she is committed to making an impact as a business leader and member of the community. In this episode, Deb shares her perspectives on effective leadership, and how she weaves her professional and personal interests into a rich tapestry of life experiences.   HIGHLIGHTS: Stewardship and Legacy [3:08] Three Lessons About Effective Leadership [4:40] Tackling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Organizations [10:23] Finding Your Non-Negotiables [14:23] Personal Discoveries from 2020 [15:42]  

The relationship between the Chair and the CEO is widely considered to be one of the most significant, if not the most significant, in any organisation. If the relationship is working well, it is a powerful alliance that can energise and uplift a whole organisation. But if the relationship is broken, the effects are felt throughout the organisation. What is more, the state of a broken relationship provides a good story for the media, resulting in broken careers and tarnished reputations. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, Dr Sabine Dembkowski speaks with Sir John Tusa.Sir John is the most eminent chairman of cultural institutions in the UK. His illustrious career has included the likes of the National Portrait Gallery, the English National Opera, the Wigmore Hall and the British Museum.Currently, he serves as Chairman of the British Architecture Trust Board and is Co-Chairman of the European Youth Orchestra. He is also the author of 'On Board: The Insider's Guide to Surviving Life in the Boardroom'.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the months, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. 

I can not recall a single board evaluation nor a single event I attended in Pre-Covid times where the need for challenge in the boardroom was not stressed. At the same time, I know from hundreds of interviews with members of boards how hard it really is to challenge constructively. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, Dr Sabine Dembkowski speaks with Professor Karthik Ramanna.Professor Ramanna is Professor of Business & Public Policy and Director of the Master of Public Policy Program at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government.Prof Ramanna recently produced a study for one of the Big 4 Audit firms entitled 'Building a culture of challenge in audit firms.' Lessons from this report can be applied to building a culture of challenge in the boardroom.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Recent board evaluations have laid bare how much Covid-19 has accelerated the digitisation and transformation of organisations.  Independent of the industry and independent of the country boards realise that they need different skills and behavioural traits in order realise their strategic ambitions. I thought that it is a good time to hear from two board search professionals what it takes and get a seat on the table and what dilemmas boards face.  Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, Dr Sabine Dembkowski speaks with Carol Leonard and Angela Hocter of the Inzito Partnership.The Inzito Partnership is the UK's leading boutique executive search firm and Carol and Angela have been working together in the recruitment space for over 25 years.Carol Leonard is CEO and Head of the Board Practice at the Inzito Partnership. She specialises in the recruitment of Chairmen, Chief Executives, Non-Executive Directors, Finance Directors, General Counsel and other main Board roles. Carol's prowess and hands-on approach has contributed to her being dubbed the ‘doyenne of boardroom headhunters' by the Financial Times.Angela Hocter is Head of Research at the Inzito Partnership. Previously she led the research function within the Board Practice at Whitehead Mann. She was a director of Leonard Hull International before its acquisition in April 2004. She started her search career at Norman Broadbent where she spent four years, having previously worked with a French management consultancy based in Paris and London.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Covid-19 is causing economic havoc around the globe but the impact is different and depends on the industry. In this podcast we examine the impact the pandemic had on boardrooms of VC-backed organisations. I am delighted to bring our listeners a view from the frontline from  one of the most active VCs in the UK. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, Dr Sabine Dembkowski talks to Alexander Leigh.  Alex is Investment Manager in one of the most active Venture Capital Firms in the UK. As part of his role, Alex sits on the board of young Tech companies that receive funding from the bank. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. 

Executives around the world are scrambling to cope with a tsunami of crises: a global pandemic, shattered economies, trillions in debt, and more. Yet there’s a specific group of people who can single handedly make—or break—your organization’s response to it all: the board. Best-in-class boards create the agility to adapt to rapid growth, looming recessions, and unexpected shocks. But broken boards, or those that are simply inefficient, create environments where failures and scandals easily take hold (think: Boeing, Volkswagen, and FIFA). Today, this risk of disaster is tenfold.   Professor Cossin is the founder and director of the IMD Global Board Center, the originator of the Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness methodology and an advocate of Stewardship. He is the author and co-author of books such as Inspiring Stewardship, book chapters (such as Governance Risk: A Guide for Investors) and many articles in the fields of governance, investments, risks and stewardship, several of which have obtained citations of excellence or other awards. He works with owners, boards and senior leaders to provide the latest thinking on best-in-class governance, board effectiveness, the governance and selection of investments, board dynamics and strategy design. He favors an adaptive and interactive approach to finding distinctive solutions for organizations on a wide range of governance topics. His latest research focuses on stewardship, how we can foster organizations to have long-term positive social impact while creating economic value for all. His past research has dealt with optimizing governance in critical decision making, M&As and risks. Topics During this interview, Didier and I discuss the following topics: His background and story The four pillars of board effectivenessWhere organizations are failing in achieving high performance statusHow to high performance boards deal with crisis managementHow to lead boards effectively For the complete show notes be sure to check out our website: https://movingforwardleadership.com/151

In this episode, Chris McColgan, Managing Editor of the Business Scout, steps in as host to speak to Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards about "Creating Effective Boards,  the Seven Hallmarks of Effective Boards"A lot has been said about the increasing challenges boards face – from governing an organisation through the pandemic to disruptive technologies, shifting demographics and geopolitical risks. Corporate failures have brought the importance of well-functioning and effective boards more to the fore. Dr Dembkowski is credited with having created the Seven Hallmarks of Effective boards, a framework for building more effective boards.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. 

Many of our clients say early on in our discussions that they do have an aligned board. However, when we walk into the boardroom with high expectations of a relatively smooth board evaluation process, we usually find - usually during the one-to-one interviews we conduct - that there are deep and significant gaps in consensus.  With the pace of change dominating the agenda, it is unrealistic to expect every member of the board is on the same page. Still, unless the board is truly aligned, one cannot hope to align the rest of the organisation behind a strategic journey or a transformation programme.  In this episode, Dr Sabine Dembkowski talks to Rich Berens, CEO and President at Root, Inc and author of "What are your Blind Spots."As CEO and Chief Client Fanatic, Rich Berens has had the opportunity to lead Root Inc. and its artists, designers, researchers, programmers, and MBAs in creating breakthrough approaches to change that have reached millions of people around the world.  Rich is a frequent author, thought leader, and speaker on leadership, transformation, and how to create lasting change. Rich's latest project is a book called What Are Your Blind Spots?  that he co-authored with Root's founder, Jim Haudan. It focuses on five key blind spots preventing leaders from effectively leading their organizations and engaging their people.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. 

A wide range of perspectives in the boardroom is critical to effective corporate governance. Multiple views on the possible outcomes of any action makes for a decision-making process that is more likely to take into account the various risks, consequences and implications of possible actions. Progress has been made in recent years and for example gender diversity has increased. We now see a shift and realisation that diversity is more complex and what really is needed is to go beyond the labels and achieve cognitive diversity. In this podcast I am delighted to talk with Stephen Page Head of the EMEA Board Engagement at the NASDAQ Centre for Board Excellence about Board Performance & Cognitive Diversity in the Boardroom.Stephen is is Head of EMEA Board Engagement, Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence. He has been a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute for over 25 years. During his career, Stephen has acted as director, corporate secretary, head of legal, and independent advisor for many UK and non-UK public and private companies, including professional service firms, multinationals and a UK development capital concern. Stephen established his own successful corporate compliance services business in the early 2000s, which was eventually sold to a Hong Kong Bank. In recent years, Stephen has spoken on many governance topics at a number of international conferences.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. 

I interviewed Jeanie Latz | Board and Governance Consultant on Friday, July 17th, 2020. We discussed several topics including: Her Journey to Board Consultant Better Results with Diversity  Helpful Tips for Getting Involved with Boards Board Composition Trends The ESG Question  Signs of an Effective Board   Bringing Work In-House & Managing Legal Spend  A Hostile Takeover Story Bill and Melinda Gates  _______________________________________________ Give Feedback Please share your feedback for the show, who I should interview, and the topics that interest you right now.  _______________________________________________ Links referred to in this episode: Jeanie Latz | LinkedIn Profile National Association of Corporate Directors Website Society for Corporate Governance Website Adam J. Epstein | The Perfect Corporate Board: A Handbook for Mastering the Unique Challenges of Small-Cap Companies Netflix | Inside Bill's Brain 

Around the world, governments are struggling to address the immediate and long-term impacts of the pandemic. Governments are supporting key industries at an unprecedented level. Questions emerge about the role government representatives and politicians should play when an organisation receives public funds. We thought that it is a good time to contribute to the dialogue with a conversation about politicians in the boardroom and ask provocatively can they value or are they a nuisance? Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Carwyn Jones, the former first minister of Wales.Carwyn Jones trained as a barrister and was in the legal practice before becoming the First Minister of Wales. As First Minister, he was responsible for a budget of £16bn a year and led a government that introduced landmark legislation. He led bids to bring companies such as Aston Martin and CAF to Wales and the expansion of organisations like Airbus, GE and General Dynamics, led the team that brought the Champions League Final to Wales, the Rugby Union and League World Cups and Ashes Tests. Recently, Carwyn joined the law and criminology department at Aberystwyth University on a part-time basis, stepping down from his role as an assembly member in 2021.Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda of boards.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. 

“The board should establish the company's purpose, values and strategy, and satisfy itself that these and its culture are aligned. All directors must act with integrity, lead by example and promote the desired culture.” Corporate Governance Codes around the globe are clear and yet the root cause of many corporate failures points to a toxic culture. It is one thing to write down on paper and another to make it happen in the boardroom. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Alison Platt about Post-pandemic challenges: Purpose, values, strategy and cultural alignment.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that service boards about topics that are ranked high on the agenda.Alison is on the Board of Tesco (FTSE 50), ‘Dechra' (FTSE150) and Spectrum Life and is Chair of Legal & General's business, LGFA. She is an advisor to Huntswood. She was previously on the board of Cable & Wireless Communications, Bupa Arabia, Max Bupa India and the FCO. She received a CMG in 2011. Alison was CEO of Countrywide plc between September 2014 and January 2018. Prior to that, she spent over twenty years in healthcare and financial services with Bupa. Alison is a member of the steering group of the Hampton Alexander Review and was previously the Chair of 'Opportunity Now'.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Social studies provide clear evidence that more diverse boards are more effective. Organisations that are governed by more diverse boards are less likely to get embroiled in scandals and are financially more successful. The business case is very clear and yet diversity is all but the start. What counts is the integration of people in the boardroom of different gender, different race, different colour, different religion and different background. Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Yetunde Hofmann about Post-pandemic challenges: Integration – the elephant in the boardroom?I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the months, I speak with those that service boards about topics that are ranked high on the agenda.Yetunde is a Non-Executive Director and Chair of the People, Culture and Remuneration Committee at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) where she is also Champion for the Middle East.  She is a Non-Executive Director of Treatt Plc, and a member of their Audit, Remuneration and Nominations Committees.  She is a Board Trustee at the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), Board Trustee and Chair of the People, Culture and Remuneration committee of The Education Development Trust, a Visiting Fellow at University of Reading's Henley Business School and a Board Mentor at Criticaleye, the peer to peer Board level Community. How can we help you and your board? We at Better Boards are delighted to hear from you. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Many directors at the beginning of their directorial career often worry that they will not make the impact they want or that they expect to make. This trend is more pronounced with directors who are women and those from a minority background. But how can new board members find their voice in the boardroom?Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. In this podcast, I am delighted to speak to Orna NiChionna. Orna spent 18 years at McKinsey's London office, where she was the first woman to be elected partner. Since leaving McKinsey she has served on many boards including Bupa, HMV and Royal Mail. She has been an advisor to Apax LLP and to EdenMcCallum LLP. She is currently on the boards of Burberry and Saga and is Chair of Founders Intelligence. She was Chair of the Soil Association for 6 years and is currently Deputy Chair of the National Trust. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Building an inclusive and diverse workplace that draws on the talents of all of the people, is vital to any Economy. If companies are not recruiting from the whole of society, then they are missing out on talent. Back in 2017, Sir John Parker led a review into the ethnic diversity of boards in the UK. In the light of the new Parker Review report in February this year by EY, their sponsor, which revealed ‘slow progress' suggesting it will be challenging for FTSE100 to hit the ‘One by 2021' target set in 2017, we ask why does ethnic diversity matter in British boardrooms?Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Joëlle Warren and Khurram Hussain.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Joëlle Warren MBE, DL is the Founding Partner and Executive Chair of Warren Partners which appoints Executive and Non-Executive Directors to boards and their senior leadership teams.  Joëlle is passionate about improving effectiveness in the boardroom through achieving the right balance of skills, diversity and experience and is a regular speaker on the business benefits of boardroom diversity in all its forms.  She was appointed MBE in 2016 for Services to Business. Her Non-Executive Director experience includes serving on boards in the university, charity and hospitality sectors and she is a member of the North West Business Leadership Team and the CBI's SME Council.Khurram Hussain is a Consultant Partner with Warren Partners and supports executive and Non-Executive appointments across a range of complex organisations, including established PLCs and high-growth ventures. He has a passion for identifying and engaging highly talented executives with the ability to transform businesses in the UK and internationally. He has a particular interest in empowering clients to build truly diverse and inclusive Boards and leadership teams that can collectively outperform and deliver sustainable change. Prior to joining Warren Partners, he was an associate with a global search firm. He started his career with IBM Integrated Technology Services in the Global Services division.How can we help you and your board? We at Better Boards are delighted to hear from you. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Bankers around the globe are getting ready for a wave of corporate takeovers. Covid-19 has changed the position of many private and family-owned businesses and they are forced to exit earlier than expected. Others had to put plans on hold to see how Covid pans out. While it is easy to build the case for mergers and acquisitions on paper, most fail and destroy value for their shareholders.  Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. I am delighted to speak with one of the most respected Chairmen in the UK - Philip Aiken. Phil is the mastermind behind combining AVEVA and Schneider Electric's industrial software business. The merger is widely regarded as a success. The story does not end there. This week it was announced that the firm is buying data company Osisoft in a deal expected to boost its market value to more than £10billion making Aveva Britains the most valuable software firm. Aveva plc is listed in London on the FTSE100. Phil Aiken has just under 50 years of experience in industry and commerce. He is Non-Executive Chairman at Aveva Plc, Chairman of Balfour Beatty plc and the Australian Day Foundation, Non-Executive Director of Newcrest Mining Limited and Director of Gammon China Limited. Previously Phil had numerous high-profile Executive and Board roles in the energy and utility industry in organisations like BHP Billiton, National Grid plc and Macquarie Bank (Europe).How can we help you and your board? We at Better Boards are delighted to hear from you. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges. Companies around the world had to rise to the occasion at a speed they previously could not have imagined. Across industries, leaders in the governance profession had to adjust how they work - and what role they should play.Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with David Press about “Resilience in the governance market.”I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with insiders that have a seat on the table and those that provide professional services about topics that rank high on the agenda.David has specialised in the recruitment of company secretaries since 1999 and is one of the founding directors of DMJ. He is widely recognised as a leader in his field and the recruitment partner of the ICSA/The Chartered Governance Institute. David's expertise lies in senior hires, including executive search and the development of aspiring company secretaries as they seek to enter the profession. The annual salary survey for Company Secretaries serves as a reference point for the profession in the UK.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Governments around the globe are initiating mega projects to revive their economies. It is in all our interests that these megaprojects are well managed. I am talking with Prof Bent Flyvbjerg about Post-Pandemic challenges: Managing megaprojects.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that service boards about topics that are ranked high on the agenda.In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Prof Bent Flyvbjerg.Bent Flyvbjerg is the first BT Professor and inaugural Chair of Major Programme Management at Saïd Business School and a Professorial Fellow of St Anne's College.Flyvbjerg is the most cited scholar in the world in megaproject management. He serves as advisor and consultant to government and business, including the US and UK governments and several Fortune 500 companies. He is an external advisor to McKinsey and other consultancies. He has worked on some of the largest projects in the world, on all aspects from front-end planning, delivery, and rescue of failing projects.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that are at the serving boards about topics that are high on a board's agenda.In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Susan Hooper.Susan is Chair of  Caresourcer.com and sits on the Boards of Uber UK, The Rank Group plc and Affinity Water Ltd.. Susan is also a Director of Chapter Zero, an organisation dedicated to providing education, insight and support on climate change to Non-Executive Board Directors and Chairs and actively involved in several start-ups in property and medical technology.Prior to her plural life, Susan was Managing Director of British Gas Residential Services, Chief Executive of Acromas Group Travel Division and held senior roles at Royal Caribbean International, Avis Europe, PepsiCo International, McKinsey & Co, and Saatchi & Saatchi living in over 7 countries worldwide.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

A Board is made up of people – Directors who take the role with the intention of delivering value to the organisation. These Directors are each unique in their personality, behaviour, experience, skills and competence. Together, as a group, a collective dynamic materialises that has a positive or often negative outcome. Simply, decisions take longer, some topics are taboo, personal agendas influence behaviour, personalities and sensitivities impact how people interact and respond. The conversation will address examples Sharon has seen of Boardroom Dynamics that are unconstructive, difficult to “see” and address; and evidence how making these situations known to the Directors and, that provided willingness to change is prevailing, improvements in Board Effectiveness can by instantaneous. Speaker: Sharon Constançon is a Chartered Director, Chartered Secretary and a fellow of ICSA, a fellow of the IoD, a member of CISI International Committee, Chairman of the South African Chamber of Commerce UK and a member of the WCCSA Membership Committee. As CEO of Genius Methods and Genius Boards, Sharon offers robust, behavior-focused board evaluations, mentoring, corporate governance services and training to many industries. Her clients include FTSE and regulated businesses, SMEs, family businesses, investment trusts, insurance, financial services, health services, charities and the housing sector. With a passion for empowering Company Secretaries and Governance professionals, Sharon writes articles and regularly runs workshops and chairs roundtable debates and panels. She successfully uses case-studies in her training courses to help others understand the dynamics of the Board and the role of a Non-Exec Director Through the various projects run by Genius Methods and Genius Boards, Sharon has developed a deep and rich network of governance professionals. Interested in watching our webinars live, or taking part in the production of our research? Join our community at: https://bit.ly/3sXPpb5

Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am talking with Mark Tennant about Post-Pandemic challenges: the role of the Chair in managing investor relations.I am Dr Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that serve boards - about topics that rank high on the agenda.In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Mark Tennant.  Mark has extensive experience chairing boards in the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. His experience ranges from small start-ups through plc boards to trade bodies and charities.Mark is Chairman of BMO Private Equity Trust plc, Scottish Land and Estates, the trade body for landowning in Scotland, Centrica Pensions, a Non-Executive Director of Unit Trust of India International and a Trustee of the Royal Hospital Chelsea.Previously he chaired the boards of Scottish Financial Enterprise, the trade body for financial services in Scotland, Scottish Stockbrokers Bell Lawrie White Ltd, Hill Samuel Unit Trusts and Hill Samuel Private Clients Ltd. Mark also has broad political experience, having stood for Westminster against Gordon Brown in 1992 and as a candidate for the Highlands and Islands in the European elections of 1994. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that are at the serving boards about topics that are high on a board's agenda.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and NOT those of Better Boards. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Laura McNeil.  Laura is Assistant Company Secretary and International Share Plans Manager at Blue Prism Group plc, an AIM-listed robotic process automation software company. Prior to this, she has held company secretarial roles at FTSE250 retailer N Brown Group and AIM-listed NWF Group. Laura was named as an innovator on DMJ & Computershare's Governance Hot 100 2020 list. She has spoken about automation and how company secretaries can embrace technology at ProShare, The Governance Institute, and AWCS events.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that are at the serving boards about topics that are high on a board's agenda.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and NOT those of Better Boards. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Frank Satterwhite, Founder and CEO of 1600 Cyber, an American-owned Pan-European Cybersecurity consultancy. Frank is a known, global cybersecurity expert and social influencer. A former NATO and US Military cyber consultant with roots in Silicon Valley and the EU, he has a purposeful vision that has driven his career: Making the world a better place, by protecting society through technology. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. We make the boards of the most ambitious organisations more effective. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that are at the serving boards about topics that are high on a board's agenda.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and NOT those of Better Boards. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Ron Mobed.  Ron has a history of success in growing and transitioning businesses through innovation and by focusing on customer needs. He has a wide range of U.S. and international experience in the energy and information industries, especially in digital transformation. He is a Non-Executive Director of Aveva PLC, an FTSE100 software company. From August 2012 to February 2019 Ron was CEO of Elsevier. Elsevier is the largest operating unit of RELX Group PLC (LSE: RELX) - a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers and one of the 20 largest public companies in the UK.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Welcome to the Better Boards podcast series. Thank you for listening to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that are serving on boards about topics that are high on the board's agenda.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and NOT those of Better Boards. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Sarah Walker-Smith.  Sarah Walker-Smith is the CEO of Shakespeare Martineau. She is the first female, non-lawyer CEO in the legal top 50.  Sarah is a trained accountant having worked for PWC and Deloitte and Boots plc. She regularly speaks at national leadership events, is a governor at Nottingham Trent University, on the board of the West Midlands CBI Council and a member of the Society of Leadership Fellows at St George's House - a society only open to 250 leaders worldwide. Sarah recognises the importance of life beyond work and enjoys writing, directing and performing in musical theatre productions. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and NOT those of Better Boards. New episodes are available every first and third Thursday of the month. In this episode, I am honoured to talk with Malcolm McKenzie.Malcolm McKenzie is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal and Head of the European Corporate Transformation Services practice in London. He brings 30 years of experience in advising senior management and boards on improving top-line and bottom-line performance and has completed over 70 cost reduction, transformation, mergers and acquisitions and carve-out engagements across corporate and private equity-owned businesses. Malcolm has served on several boards and worked with Chairmen and Boards of Directors on evaluating and improving board and company performance. He has also led a series of research programmes into Board leadership and has served as a judge on the Non-Executive Director Awards in the UK since their inception.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

In this Podcast, Geraldine Joseph, SEACEN Centre Senior Analyst, has a conversation with Professor Dr. Didier Cossin, founder and director of the Global Board Centre of the International Institute for Management Department (IMD), Switzerland, and Professor of Finance and Governance at IMD. Professor Cossin is the originator of the Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness methodology and an advocate of Stewardship. In his work with Boards of both public- and private-sector organisations across the world, Professor Cossin helps them enhance organisational performance through strategy involvement; best-in-class decision-making; promotion of board culture; and general governance, including board restructuring. Over the course of this conversation, he will be sharing his perspectives for effective central bank governance, based on his very own 4-pillar framework.

Thank you for listening to the Better Boards podcast series. I am Sabine Dembkowski, Founder and Managing Partner of Better Boards. Our mission at Better Boards is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we give a voice to all who are care about creating better boards. Every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, I speak with those that are serving on boards about topics that are high on the board's agenda.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and NOT those of Better Boards. In this episode, I am delighted to talk with Anthony Rose.  Anthony is the serial entrepreneur and the man behind BBC iPlayer. Anthony has founded and sold multiple start-ups. He is co-founder and CEO of SeedLegals, the world's first legal automation platform for start-up funding. In less than 3 years, SeedLegals has become the largest closer of funding rounds in the UK.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairs, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. I am honoured and humbled that Sir John Parker is joining me in this episode. Sir John has earned a reputation for his “tough” approach at the helm of the UK´s largest companies and is associated with a number of major Corporate turnarounds.Sir John is Chairman of Pennon PLC and the Engineering and Construction Group Laing O'Rourke.  He is also Non- Executive Director of Carnival PLC and Carnival Corporation. He was President of the Royal Academy of Engineering 2011-2014. He stepped down as Chairman of Anglo American PLC in 2017, National Grid PLC in 2011 and as Non-Executive Director of Airbus in 2018.His career has spanned the Engineering, Shipbuilding, Paper, Utility, Energy, Mining and the Defense industries.  He has over 25 years experience as a CEO including Harland & Wolff and the Babcock International Group. Sir John also chaired the Court of the Bank of England between 2004 and 2009. Sir John has Chaired the Government's commissioned independent review into the ethnic diversity of UK boards since 2016.Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary, new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairs, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. I am delighted that Lindsay Hooper is joining me on this episode. Lindsay is an Executive Director at the Institute for Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge. She leads the Institute's Education and Advisory teams, which support major global organisations, boards and individual leaders to build the capability to align economic performance with the delivery of positive outcomes for society. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary, new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.    You can subscribe to the Better Boards podcast series on Apple or Google Podcast to never miss an episode.    How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairs, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. I am delighted that Philippe Joubert is joining. Philippe is Founder and CEO of Earth on Board, an ecosystem of sustainability actors dedicated to informing and helping Boards to put sustainability at the centre of the company's strategy.He is also Trustee of Client Earth, Senior Advisor and Special Envoy Energy and Climate for WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Advisor for International Development of World Energy Council (WEC), Chairman of HRH The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change, Chair of the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Fellow in this Institute. Philippe sits on various commercial boards and was previously President of Alstom Power and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Alstom Group.Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary, new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.    How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairs, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. I am honoured and humbled that Dr Emily Shuckburgh OBE is joining me this week. Emily is a world-leading climate scientist and gifted science communicator. She is also Reader in Environmental Data Science in the Department of Computer Science and Technology at the University of Cambridge. In her previous role at the British Antarctic Survey, she led a national research programme on polar climate change. She is the Director of Cambridge Zero, a bold and ambitious new climate change initiative of the University of Cambridge that is calling the world´s brightest and best to join in and create a zero-carbon future. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary, new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairs, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. I am delighted that Steve Maslin is joining me this week. Steve is the immediate Past Chair of the Partnership Oversight Board of Grant Thornton -  the world's sixth-largest professional services network of independent accounting and consulting member firms that provide assurance, tax and advisory services to privately held businesses, public interest entities, and public sector entities. After almost three decades at Grant Thornton, Steven has established an impressive portfolio of roles on Commercial boards, Charity boards and committees that include Nuffield Health, Ark Schools, The Royal Collections Trust, The Gurkha Museum, and most latterly Chair of an unlisted building company.Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary, new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.   How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. I am delighted and honoured that for this episode, Prof Amy Edmondson from Harvard Business School is joining us. Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society. Edmondson has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 and was honoured with the Talent Award in 2017.  She studies teaming, psychological safety, and leadership, and her articles have been published in numerous academic and management outlets,Amy's work on psychological safety has been groundbreaking and is the subject of this podcast. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary, new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.  How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to provide proven solutions for creating more effective boards. Our evidence-based board evaluations and board development programmes deliver tangible results.To fulfil our mission, we listen and give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get exclusive insights from one of the most respected Chairman in the UK - John Barton. John is Chairman of EasyJet and Chairman of the Nomination Committee. He is also a Senior Independent Director of Luceco PLC and Non-Executive Director of SSP Group PLC and Matheson / Company Limited.John has served for three decades on boards of numerous FTSE organisations as Chairman and Senior Independent Director. In the City of London, he is known as "Mr Chairman". Previously John was CEO of insurance broker JIB Group plc where he became Chairman after the merger with Lloyd Thompson.Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. As a note for your diary new episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get exclusive insights from the doyenne of boardroom headhunters in the UK, Carol Leonard. Carol is one of the most experienced and trusted headhunters in the UK. She is CEO at The Inzito Partnership and Head of its Board Practice. Carol specialises in the recruitment of Chairmen, Chief Executives, Non-Executive Directors, Finance Directors, General Counsel, and other main Board roles. Carol's prowess and hands-on approach are legendary. Before her career in headhunting, Carol was a financial journalist with The Times, The Evening Standard, and Channel Four. Carol is also a Fellow of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford.Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. New episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. 

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get insights from Alex Leigh, Investment Manager in one of the most active Venture Capital Firms in the UK, the Development Bank of Wales. As part of his role, Alex sits on the board of ten young Tech companies that receive funding from the bank. Before joining the Development Bank of Wales Alex worked for Private Equity firms and invested in firms in South Africa.Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. New episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get insights into a study on information overload in the boardroom and practical tips about how you can overcome the issues from Zsuzsanna Schiff from the ICAEW, a world-leading professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports over 180,000 chartered accountants and students worldwide and Hitesh Patel who serves on boards of various Financial Services organisations. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. New episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get insights from Company Secretary - Carolyn Ferguson. Carolyn is Company Secretary at FTSE250 organisation The Go-Ahead Group. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. New episodes are available every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfil our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get insights from one of the UK's most experienced female business leaders - Julie Baddeley. Julie has held numerous executive and non-executive positions on the boards of many well-known FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies over the last 20 years. In addition to these roles, Julie has established the Hughes Hall Centre for Climate Change Engagement at Cambridge University and is the Founder and Chair of Chapter Zero. Chapter Zero is part of the Global Climate Governance Initiative. Its goal is to support and prepare Non-Executive Directors to address the risks and opportunities presented by Climate Change in UK boardrooms. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. New episodes are available bi-weekly - every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us at info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

Our mission at Better Boards www.better-boards.com is to contribute to creating better boards. We do this by providing clients with an evidence-based approach for board evaluations and board development programmes. To fulfill our mission, we would like to give a voice to all who care about creating better boards - Chairpeople, CEOs, Senior Independent Directors (SIDs), Non-Executive Directors (NEDs), Company Secretaries, academicians, investors, and regulators.All the views expressed in our podcasts are the views of our podcast partners and not those of Better Boards. In this episode, you'll get insights from a highly experienced UK Chairman - Andrew Allner. Andrew provides a personal account of how he obtained his first role as a Chair, what he loves about being a Chair, and his perspective about the role of Chairs in creating better boards. Every time you tune in, we'll help you to develop and reinvigorate your board know-how and practice with insights, data, and practical advice. New episodes are available bi-weekly - every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month. How can we help you and your board to become more effective? We at Better Boards are always delighted to hear from you. Get in touch. You can best reach us on info@better-boards.com. Thank you for listening.

A report published by the Alliance for Board Diversity (ABD) and Deloitte, "Missing Pieces", shows that the number of women and minorities on boards at Fortune 500 companies was at an all-time high in 2018. In fact, well over half of Fortune 500 boards have reached diversity levels of at least 30 percent women and minorities on their boards. That’s progress, but the flip side is that means 70 percent of the board is made up of white males. So what can we do? Deb DeHaas, Vice Chairman and National Managing partner of the Center for Board Effectiveness at Deloitte, joins host Laura Zarrow to discuss the implications of this report of Women@Work. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join Laura and Deb DeHaas, Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner of the Center for Board Effectiveness at Deloitte, as they speak about Deloitte’s corporate board diversity report, Missing Pieces. How do you get on a corporate board? And how can more underrepresented candidates get into that pipeline? Listen in as Deb answers these questions and talks with Laura on how to bring diversity and inclusion to life in big businesses.Originally aired with Host Laura Zarrow on March 6, 2019 on SiriusXM's Business Radio Powered by The Wharton School, Channel 132 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Board governance and effectiveness lies at the heart of charities. We love our boards, but working with them can be very challenging. Matt Fullbrook from the Clarkson Centre for Board Governance walks us through some easy but impactful steps to take to re-focus your board and repair or optimize your relationship with your board members. Whether your board is highly functional or the cause of your grey hairs, Matt has tips and tools to get the most out of your board and make sure they are getting the most out of volunteering for your organization.

Click here for tedhart.com He lectures around the world but now is here for you. From the latest in charity news, technology, fundraising and social networking, Ted Hart and his guests help you maneuver through this economic downturn in the charitable sector to greater levels of efficiency and fundraising success. PAGE 2 GUEST EXPERT: KENT STROMAN Regarded as America’s ASKING Coach, Kent Stroman is a talented speaker, insightful advisor, effective communicator and published author. He has an appeal that transcends barriers of age, culture and occupation. After a 25 year career in higher education, Kent launched STROMAN & associates, consulting in fundraising, board governance, strategic planning, and leadership development. Stroman’s fundraising efforts have generated tens of millions of dollars for charitable causes. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Partner in the Alliance for Board Effectiveness, BoardSource-trained governance consultant, Sarkeys Foundation-approved retreat facilitator, and serves as an adjunct consultant for the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. Kent has earned the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Master Trainer designation. In 2003 Kent was named the Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Eastern Oklahoma AFP.Kent is a popular speaker and frequent presenter to regional, national and international audiences. His new book The Intentional Board: Why Your Board Doesn't Work ... and How to Fix It? is a focus of this show.

A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 12 Shareholder Activism – The Vulnerability Framework; Board Governance & Effectiveness; and a Conversation with WEC Energy Group CEO Allen Leverett Guests include: Chris Young, Managing Director and Head of the Contested Situations Group, Credit Suisse Allen Leverett, President and CEO of WEC Energy Tanuja Dehne, Corporate governance expert and independent director of publicly-traded companies.  If you haven’t joined us in a while, you may have missed the announcement that we formed two companies under Leadership Lyceum’s brand: Lyceum Leadership Consulting which provides executive and board of director’s search, board effectiveness review, and an array of services for successor development and board-readiness.  And Lyceum Leadership Productions which brings you this podcast. Segment I - a continuation of our discussion on Shareholder Activism with Chris Young from Credit Suisse. We will cover what Chris describes as The Vulnerability Framework. We will discuss the conditions that make a company particularly vulnerable to activism. Segment II - a conversation with Allen Leverett, President CEO of WEC Energy Group in Milwaukee. We will discuss how WEC has reshaped itself through M&A over the last 10 years into a vastly different company that serves 4.4 million customers across 4 states in the upper Midwest.  Segment III - a continuation of our discussion with Tanuja Dehne on impediments to boardroom effectiveness. Famous Last Words - In our last episode, Episode 11, we introduced a spot called Famous Last Words. We intersperse excerpts from MGM’s 1954 movie Executive Suite starring William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, and Fredric March. For you utility enthusiasts, it also stars the PPL Building (Pennsylvania Power & Light) in Allentown, Pennsylvania as the exterior of the Tredway Corporation.  The plot backdrop -- Avery Bullard, President of the Tredway Corporation has died. But he never named a clear successor, so the Board members must choose. The most likely candidate is Loren Shaw, a skilled businessman with a high degree of financial acumen.  Their intense and consequential boardroom discussion will weave through our episode. Thanks for joining us.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe on iTunes.  See you next time.    Informative and Helpful Links  The Lyceum’s Well-Tuned Governance Model  https://www.leadershiplyceum.com/lyceum-board-effectiveness    Program Guide Episode 12 Shareholder Activism – The Vulnerability Framework; Board Governance & Effectiveness; and Conversation with Wisconsin Energy CEO Allen Leverett 0:30     Introduction to Lyceum’s brands and the podcast Episode 12  1:44     Introduction of Famous Last Words spot – MGM’s Executive Suite 3:47     Famous Last Words spot – MGM’s Executive Suite plot summary 2:35     Famous Last Words – Executive Suite 1/5 3:22     Break 1 3:36     Introduction to Segment I – Shareholder Activism with guest Chris Young, Managing Director of Credit Suisse on The Vulnerability Framework 7:20     Famous Last Words – Executive Suite 2/5 8:28     Break 2 8:41     Segment I (cont.): Chris Young of Credit Suisse 15:26   Famous Last Words – Executive Suite 3/5 17:17   Break 3 17:32   Wrap up of Segment I on Shareholder Activism and preview of next month’s Episode 13 with the final chapter in the series with Chris Young. 17:48   Introduction of Segment II: Interview with Allen Leverett, CEO of WEC Energy Group 27:28   Break 4 27:51   Segment II (cont.): Interview with Allen Leverett 41:30   End of Interview with Paul Bonavia 33:45   Break 5 34:06   Segment II (cont.): Interview with Allen Leverett 37:03   End of Interview with Allen Leverett 37:08   Famous Last Words – Executive Suite 4/5 38:22   Break 6 38:35   Introduction to Segment III – Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness, a continuation of our discussion with Tanuja Dehne on impediments to boardroom effectiveness. 45:34   End of Segment III and preview of next month’s Episode 13 with Tanuja Dehne 45:45   Conclusion of Famous Last Words with Executive Suite 5/5   Biographies of Guests Mr. Chris Young  Chris Young has been Managing Director and Head of the Takeover Defense Practice at Credit Suisse AG and Credit Suisse Group since June 1, 2010. Until May 2010, Mr. Young served as the Director of M&A and Proxy Fight at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). While at ISS, Mr. Young was responsible for analyzing contentious M&A transactions, proxy fights and corporate governance issues and providing proxy voting and tender offer recommendations for ISS institutional investor clients. Mr. Young also helped to facilitate a constructive dialogue between ISS institutional investor clients and senior executives and directors of public companies in the US and Europe. Mr. Young is regarded as a leading authority on contested M&A transactions and shareholder activism. Prior to ISS, Mr. Young was a member of the investment banking group at Bear Stearns and the M&A group at Sullivan & Cromwell. Mr. Young is a CFA charter holder, received his JD, magna cum laude, from Boston University and his BS from Georgetown University.   Mr. Allen Leverett Allen Leverett was named president of WEC Energy Group in June 2015 and chief executive officer in May 2016. He was appointed to the board of directors in January 2016. Leverett had served as president of Wisconsin Energy Corporation since August 2013, as well as president – Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota, with responsibility for business operations of the company’s utilities in those states. Previously, Leverett served as president and chief executive officer of We Generation, the company’s power generation group, since March 2011, with overall responsibility for the company’s electric generation portfolio, fuel procurement, environmental compliance and renewable energy development strategy. He joined Wisconsin Energy in 2003 as chief financial officer. In May 2004, he was named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Wisconsin Energy and We Energies. Prior to joining the company, Leverett served as chief financial officer and executive vice president of Georgia Power in Atlanta, Georgia. Before that, he was vice president and treasurer of Southern Company Services, with overall responsibility for financial planning and analysis, capital markets and leasing, treasury and investor relations. Previously, he held a variety of positions in transmission planning, integrated resource planning, strategic planning, wholesale marketing and finance. Leverett earned his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in electrical engineering and mathematics from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He also earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, and a Master of Business Administration degree with a finance concentration from Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. Leverett is a director of American Transmission Co., non-executive chairman of Church Mutual Insurance Co., and a member of the board of directors of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI).   Ms. Tanuja Dehne Tanuja Dehne is a public company director and former C-level executive of NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 250 power company. Tanuja brings perspective and experience from her cross-disciplinary roles to the C-suite and board room. She is a purpose-driven leader, cultivator of talent and proven strategist. She is an award winning corporate attorney, human resources professional and community volunteer who thrives when making a positive difference in the lives of others. During her tenure at NRG Energy, Inc., Tanuja had increasingly expansive roles: initially the company’s securities and finance lawyer, then Corporate Secretary and lead M&A attorney, before becoming the head of Human Resources. Ultimately, in her role as EVP, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff, she oversaw the company’s Human Resources, Information Technology, Communications, Marketing and Sustainability departments, the company’s charitable giving program, M&A integrations, as well as the construction of NRG’s sustainable corporate headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. Tanuja also served as a sponsor, coach and “internal angel investor” of interdisciplinary innovation teams, including the team that created the “Path to Luma,” an environmentally conscious puzzle game launched in August 2015 with record breaking downloads in the Apple and Google stores. Tanuja is a director of Advanced Disposal Services (NYSE: ADSW) and Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE: GPMT), and Board Trustee of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, HomeFront of New Jersey and Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. She is a frequent speaker on topics including leadership, corporate governance, and the intersection of the law and human resources. She received a B.A. from Lafayette College, Master’s in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law. Ms. Dehne’s Upcoming Speaking Engagements: September 14, 2017: ABA Annual Meeting of Business Law Section in Chicago: Driving Boardroom Diversity:  An Inside Look at What’s Important and What’s Next October 2, 2017: NACD Annual Global Summit, National Harbor, MD:  Compensation Board Committee Forum October 25, 2017: BSR Annual Conference 2017 - How Businesses Lead in Los Angeles: “Engaging Boards: Making a Case” - engaging boards on sustainability issues   Host Mr. Thomas B. Linquist Your host Thomas B. Linquist is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lyceum Leadership Consulting and Lyceum Leadership Productions. Over his 15 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of industrial clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 25-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders.  Please subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum in the podcast section at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically. Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.   Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes: https://t.co/a70rtSiQnW or SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thomas-linquist Follow Leadership Lyceum on:          Our website: www.LeadershipLyceum.com          LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-linquist-682997          Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum          Email us: info@LeadershipLyceum.com Please subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically.  Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.    Program Disclaimer The only purpose of the podcasts is to educate, inform and entertain. The information shared is based on the collection of experiences of each of the guests interviewed and should not be considered or substituted for professional advice. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and neither The Leadership Lyceum LLC nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular content, recommendation or methodology discussed in this podcast.   This podcast Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor has been a production of The Leadership Lyceum LLC. Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.

Host Jonathan Hightower is joined by Ken Achenbach to discuss this week's proposed guidance from the Federal Reserve on the effectiveness of bank boards. In addition, at the outset of the episode Jonathan and Ken reviewed this week's CFPB report on frequent overdrafters.

A CEO’s Virtual Mentor Episode 11  Board Governance & Effectiveness, Shareholder Activism, and Utility Industry Consolidation and M&A Guests include: Corporate governance expert, Tanuja Dehne Paul Bonavia, Retired Chairman and CEO of UNS Energy Chris Young, Managing Director and head of the Contested Situations Group, Credit Suisse   If you did not join us for our last episode, Episode 10 which was a special podcast on Innovation, you may have missed the announcement that we formed two companies under Leadership Lyceum’s brand: Lyceum Leadership Consulting which provides executive and board of director’s search, board effectiveness review, and an array of services for successor development and board-readiness.  And Lyceum Leadership Productions which brings you this podcast.  We also announced that we would be expanding the programming of the episodes this summer.  Well happy summer!  This is the first of our expanded episodes.  Welcome to Episode 11 which expands the programming into three segments.  We will continue to bring you the in-depth CEO and Director interviews around compelling business situations as a main middle segment, Segment II.  That main segment will be bookended over the next three Episodes with shorter Segments I and III.  At least over the next three episodes, Segment I will cover Board and Corporate Governance Best Practices on one hand and Segment III will cover the consequences of deficiencies in corporate governance, namely shareholder activism, on the other.  We hope you enjoy this expanded coverage which we will be refining over the next few episodes.  So please subscribe through iTunes and give us feedback on the new programming.  Tell us about leadership situations and subjects that you are interested in us exploring.  Please visit our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com for all of our archived media and offerings.  We will be right back to start the program.   Welcome back to this newly expanded Episode 11 of the Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor.  We welcome three fabulous guests to this Episode.    Introduction to Episode 11 Program In Segment I the first of a series on Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness, we welcome governance expert Tanuja Dehne.  Tanuja serves on two public company boards and is a frequent speaker on board governance -- most recently she was part of the instructor panel for the NACD Advanced Director Professionalism program earlier this month.  In Segment II we welcome Paul Bonavia, retired Chairman and CEO of UNS Energy (better known as Tucson Electric Power).  We will explore the triggers and interconnected events that have led to remarkable levels of consolidation in the electric utility industry and Paul’s leadership of the sale of UNS to Fortis in August 2014. In Segment III, the first of a series on Shareholder Activism, we will be joined by Chris Young, Managing Director and Head of the Contested Situations Group at Credit Suisse.  In the first part of this series we will cover the history of activism and the market for corporate governance, growth in the asset class, and answer a fundamental question: what do activists want?  We will be right back with Segment one with Tanuja Dehne on Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness.    Segment I: Governance & Board Matters “Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness” I am delighted to be joined by Tanuja Dehne. Tanuja is a corporate governance expert and serves as an independent director on two NYSE-listed, company boards: Advanced Disposal Services, a $1.4 billion revenue environmental services company and newly IPO’d, Granite Point, a publicly-traded commercial mortgage REIT.  She also dedicates her time to not-for-profit board service including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Young Audiences, HomeFront NJ, and Sustainable Jersey. That ends Segment I with Tanuja Dehne.  Join us for our continuing conversation with Tanuja next month in Episode 12 --- we’ll discuss derailers to effective boards and effective leadership styles in the boardroom.  And shall I say it?  Why not.  As a self-promoting reminder, the Lyceum Leadership Consulting does provide third party, Board Effectiveness Review.    Segment II:  Main Feature Interview “Special Guest Paul Bonavia, Retired Chairman and CEO of UNS Energy”  You may have read our article in the May 2017 issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly about our next guest - Paul Bonavia.  By sheer coincidence, I wrote that article for Fortnightly on April 1 of 2017 in Chicago Illinois.  Exactly ten years before that on April 1, 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed a resolution designating April 1st as “Cheap Trick Day” in Illinois. I am giddy with delight to come as close as I can to a Rolling Stone reporter in featuring this conversation with drummer Paul Bonavia, who in his younger days was in bands with members that would go on to form Cheap Trick.   While I’m sure some subset of our listenership is interested in Paul’s pre-utility rock and roll lifestyle, this conversation was directed toward Paul’s “alternative” lifestyle as a CEO of an investor-owned utility and the sale of the company he led --- to Fortis in August of 2014.  Segment III: Special Subjects Segment “First of a Mini-Series on Shareholder Activism with Chris Young, Head of Contested Situations at Credit Suisse” Welcome to our final segment in this Episode on the dramatic, consternation-filled subject of shareholder activism.  That’s Orson Welles in his introduction to his panic-producing, 1938 radio masterpiece War of the Worlds. For the Lyceum, an allegorical backdrop of an environment well-suited to some “alien” form of activism perhaps? This is our mini-series on Shareholder Activism, and we are joined by Chris Young, Managing Director and Head of the Contested Situations Group at Credit Suisse.  In this first part of this series we will cover the history of activism and the market for corporate governance, growth in the asset class, and answer a fundamental question: what do activists want? As a backdrop, The Wall Street Journal reported recently that shareholder activism, which has been a perennial nuisance for chief executives, is now becoming an existential threat. Activists are going beyond just settling for board seats and are waging campaigns that target changes in top management at the outset. So far in 2017, and this is going back a few weeks right now, but so far in 2017 activists have started nine campaigns targeting top management. This is the fastest pace on record according to FactSet. I have represented two clients this year from the power and utility industry on board searches in the face of shareholder activism.  While two companies experiencing activism does not constitute a trend, my clients’ experience of late certainly seemed to warrant raising awareness with our CEO’s Virtual Mentor listenership by featuring this fascinating and informative conversation with Chris Young.  As we were in production on this podcast, Daniel Loeb, founder of activist investor Third Point, demonstrated this activism genius by accumulating a small 1.25% stake in Nestle, published a letter on a Sunday and two days later, Nestle announced a $20.8 billion share buyback as well as clarifying other strategic objectives. Closing of Segment III That ends Segment III.  We will continue this discussion with Chris Young in late July with Episode 12.  We’ll cover more on the “mainstreaming” of activism as an asset class and we will take apart the activist’s playbook and take you step by step through the Escalation Path.      Preview of Next Month’s Episode 12 We will be back with Episode 12 at the end of July featuring more on corporate governance with Tanuja Dehne and activism with Chris Young and an interview with Allen Leverett, President and CEO of WEC Energy Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  WEC has been highly acquisitive over the last decade, Allen and I will discuss the company’s significant growth that has led to a uniquely different collection of operating assets over that time period.  Final Spot: Famous Last Words As we sign off we wrap with another new spot on our program called “Famous Last Words”.  In keeping with our War of the Worlds – Shareholder Activism allegory we will leave you to be restored to the real world in the good hands of, an out-of-character, Mr. Orson Welles.    Thanks for joining us.  We can’t improve without your feedback – write us through our website www.LeadershipLyceum.com and subscribe on iTunes.  See you next time.   Informative and Helpful Links The Lyceum’s Well-Tuned Governance Model https://www.leadershiplyceum.com/lyceum-board-effectiveness   War of the Worlds Link to one the Lyceum’s favorite websites – archive.org. Click below to listen directly to the chilling and timeless October 30, 1938 CBS airing of Orson Welles’ The Mercury Theater on the Air adaptation of H.G. Wells’ novel The War of the Worlds https://archive.org/details/OrsonWellesMrBruns Wiki links about the radio drama: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio_drama)   Program Guide Episode 11 “Board Governance & Effectiveness, Shareholder Activism Mini Series, Utility Industry Consolidation and M&A with Paul Bonavia, Retired Chairman and CEO of UNS Energy”  0:30     Introduction to new programming of Episodes  2:12     Introduction to specific programming in this Episode 11 3:47     Segment I: Corporate Governance and Board Effectiveness with Tanuja Dehne 6:15     Break 6:40     Segment I (cont.): Why should boards care about measuring effectiveness as a board? 14:05   Wrap up of Segment I on governance and preview of next month’s Episode 12 with Tanuja. 14:54   Introduction of Segment II: Interview with Paul Bonavia, Retired CEO of UNS Energy 16:13   Segment II: Interview with Paul Bonavia 33:06   Break 33:33   Segment II (cont.): Interview with Paul Bonavia 41:30   End of Interview with Paul Bonavia 41:53   Introduction to Segment III – Shareholder Activism and War of the Worlds allegory. 43:10   Segment III – Context for shareholder activism and introduction of guest Chris Young, Managing Director of Credit Suisse. 52:57   Break 53:20   Segment III (cont.): What do activists want? 56:30   End of Segment III and preview of next month’s Episode 12 with Chris Young 57:21   Conclusion and Famous Last Words with Orson Welles.   Biographies of Guests Ms. Tanuja Dehne  Tanuja Dehne is a public company director and former C-level executive of NRG Energy, Inc., a Fortune 250 power company. Tanuja brings perspective and experience from her cross-disciplinary roles to the C-suite and board room. She is a purpose-driven leader, cultivator of talent and proven strategist. She is an award winning corporate attorney, human resources professional and community volunteer who thrives when making a positive difference in the lives of others. During her tenure at NRG Energy, Inc., Tanuja had increasingly expansive roles: initially the company’s securities and finance lawyer, then Corporate Secretary and lead M&A attorney, before becoming the head of Human Resources. Ultimately, in her role as EVP, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief of Staff, she oversaw the company’s Human Resources, Information Technology, Communications, Marketing and Sustainability departments, the company’s charitable giving program, M&A integrations, as well as the construction of NRG’s sustainable corporate headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. Tanuja also served as a sponsor, coach and “internal angel investor” of interdisciplinary innovation teams, including the team that created the “Path to Luma,” an environmentally conscious puzzle game launched in August 2015 with record breaking downloads in the Apple and Google stores. Tanuja is a director of Advanced Disposal Services (NYSE: ADSW) and Silver Bay Realty Trust Corp. (NYSE: SBY), and Board Trustee of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, HomeFront of New Jersey and Young Audiences New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. She is a frequent speaker on topics including leadership, corporate governance, and the intersection of the law and human resources. She received a B.A. from Lafayette College, Master’s in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, and Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law.   Mr. Paul Bonavia  Paul Bonavia was Chairman and CEO of UNS Energy and its principal subsidiaries, Tucson Electric Power and UNS Energy Services, from January 2009 to May 2014. He served as Executive Chairman until the sale of the company to Fortis Inc. was completed in August of 2014. He had also served as President until December 2012. Mr. Bonavia worked to establish UNS Energy as a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency while maintaining safe, affordable, and reliable service to nearly 640,000 utility customers across Arizona. Mr. Bonavia was named by Governor Jan Brewer to the Board of Directors of the Arizona Commerce Authority and has served as a director or trustee of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council (former chairman), Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities (former chairman), United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona (former chairman), University of Arizona Foundation, Tucson Airport Authority, Edison Electric Institute, Institute for Energy Efficiency and American Wind Energy Association. Before joining UNS Energy, Mr. Bonavia was President of the Utilities Group of Xcel Energy and held senior positions at Dominion Power.  He earned degrees from Drake University and the University of Miami School of Law and completed Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.  Mr. Bonavia serves as chair of the board’s Human Resources Committee, and is a member of the Corporate Governance & Strategic Planning Committee and the System Planning Committee.   Mr. Chris Young Chris Young has been Managing Director and Head of the Takeover Defense Practice at Credit Suisse AG and Credit Suisse Group since June 1, 2010. Until May 2010, Mr. Young served as the Director of M&A and Proxy Fight at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS). While at ISS, Mr. Young was responsible for analyzing contentious M&A transactions, proxy fights and corporate governance issues and providing proxy voting and tender offer recommendations for ISS institutional investor clients. Mr. Young also helped to facilitate a constructive dialogue between ISS institutional investor clients and senior executives and directors of public companies in the US and Europe. Mr. Young is regarded as a leading authority on contested M&A transactions and shareholder activism. Prior to ISS, Mr. Young was a member of the investment banking group at Bear Stearns and the M&A group at Sullivan & Cromwell. Mr. Young is a CFA charter holder, received his JD, magna cum laude, from Boston University and his BS from Georgetown University.   Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes: https://t.co/a70rtSiQnW or SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thomas-linquist Follow Leadership Lyceum on:          Our website: www.LeadershipLyceum.com          LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-linquist-682997          Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum          Email us: info@LeadershipLyceum.com Please subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically.  Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.    Your host Thomas B. Linquist is the Founder and Managing Partner of Lyceum Leadership Consulting and Lyceum Leadership Productions. Over his 15 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of industrial clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 25-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders.  Please subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum in the podcast section at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically. Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues. Program Disclaimer The only purpose of the podcasts is to educate, inform and entertain. The information shared is based on the collection of experiences of each of the guests interviewed and should not be considered or substituted for professional advice. Guests who speak in this podcast express their own opinions, experience and conclusions, and neither The Leadership Lyceum LLC nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular content, recommendation or methodology discussed in this podcast. This podcast Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor has been a production of The Leadership Lyceum LLC. Copyright 2017 All rights reserved                

Cameron Schwab is an experienced CEO, leadership coach and organisational specialist. He works with Boards, CEOs and executive teams, as well as coaches and coaching teams, to build leadership capability, particularly as it relates to organisational performance and transformation. He has been a leader in the dynamic, heavily scrutinised and multifaceted professional sports industry for over 30 years in the major Australian sporting competition, the Australian Football League (AFL). His leadership career commenced at just 20 years of age, overseeing talent identification and player recruitment at the Melbourne Football Club. He was appointed CEO of the Richmond Football Club at age 24, the youngest in the history of the AFL. For the next 25 years, he was CEO of three AFL clubs, Richmond, and the Melbourne and Fremantle clubs, ranking him in the eighth longest serving CEO in the 150 years of the sport. He was also CEO of the AFL's Official Website, www.afl.com.au. Cameron's expertise centres on performance turnaround through strategic renewal, innovation and commercial enhancement by building organisational capability and creating clarity of focus. He is a positive and creative thinker and communicator with highly developed strategic skills, and a track record of unifying organisations whilst navigating periods of genuine adversity and change. He holds an MBA and Master of Marketing from the Melbourne Business School. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at the Harvard Business School, as well as the Harvard program on Board Effectiveness. He is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow of the Centre of Ethical Leadership (CEL) at University of Melbourne.

Join us as we discuss the roles and responsibilities of credit union boards today, compensation for the board and the risks and benefits they face. Fullbrook is the manager of the Clarkson Centre for Board Effectiveness at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and faculty member at CUES Governance Leadership Institute™.