Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

(00:00) Intro (02:22) Start of interview (03:06) From Tesla to Mitra Chem: Vivas Kumar’s journey from sourcing battery materials at Tesla to Stanford GSB and founding Mitra Chem (07:35) Building a U.S. Battery Supply Chain: why Mitra Chem was founded to reduce dependence on China and participate in the reindustrialization of the United States (11:10) Funding Hardware and the Role of Government: wh...

(00:00) Intro (01:43) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (02:26) Start of interview *reference to the Boardroom Governance Summit 2027 (03:49) Pam Fletcher’s Origin Story: growing up in the Midwest, and why she always wanted to work in the automotive industry (05:28) From GM to Electric Vehicles: Pam’s early career at GM, the evolution of electrification, the EV1...

(00:00) Introduction and about the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (02:31) Adaptive Governance and AI Disruption: Barney Harford on what he is seeing across public, private equity, and venture-backed boards, and why directors need to think beyond first-order effects of AI  (05:35) Public, Private Equity, and Venture Boards: why serving across different ownership models gives directors a...

(00:00) Introduction and about the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (03:03) Sue Siegel’s Background: from molecular biology and operating roles to venture capital, GE Ventures, Chief Innovation Officer of GE, and board service  (04:14) Innovation as a System: why breakthrough technology alone is not enough, and why boards need to understand the systems required to move innovation from in...

(00:00) Intro (01:44) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (02:27) Start of interview (03:24) Michael Camuñez’s Origin Story: growing up in New Mexico and California, Harvard and Stanford Law School, public service, private practice, and moving between government, business, and corporate governance (06:21) About his firm Monarch Global Strategies (09:45) The U.S.-M...

(0:00) Intro (1:25) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:08) Start of interview (2:51) James D. White’s Origin Story. (3:57) James’s current work across public and private company boards.  (6:15) The Jamba Juice Turnaround: taking over as CEO during a crisis, reshaping the culture, and rebuilding the board (8:46) Combining the Chair and CEO Roles: when it c...

(00:00) Introduction and about the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (1:50) AI and the enduring role of the board: why new technology does not change directors’ fundamental responsibilities, and why human judgment remains essential (3:32) Demystifying AI: understanding how the technology is actually used inside the business, asking clear questions, and testing AI through real-world application...

(00:00) Introduction and about the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (1:59) Collaborative Board Leadership: strengthening collaboration among directors and with management  (4:36) Moving Beyond Pattern Recognition: shrinking decision windows, comfort with ambiguity, and approaching disruption with a beginner’s mind. (7:52) Board Focus and the Governance Gap: why more information does not...

(0:00) Intro (1:28) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:12) Start of interview (3:25) Ryan Nowicki Stewart ’s Origin Story (5:06) The origin of Pennant AI and Ryan’s goal of building a “world model for corporate governance” (5:21) Why institutional investors struggle to scale governance oversight across thousands of portfolio companies (7:48) How Proxy Voting W...

(0:00) Intro (1:23) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:07) Start of interview (2:58) Stavros Gadinis ' Origin Story (4:27) The origin of his new book Corporate Ordering: How Corporations Navigate Social Conflict (5:30) Shareholders vs. Stakeholders: why the century-old debate over corporate purpose remains unresolved (7:37) Corporations as Rulemakers: how comp...

(00:00) Intro and about to the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (02:45) About Ivonne Wassenaar , and Alla Whitston from MUFG (04:51) AI and Board Oversight: what directors should be asking as AI moves from experimentation into core business strategy (05:59) Looking Beyond Today’s AI: why boards need outside perspectives on startups, venture investment, and where the technology may be heading...

(0:00) Introduction to the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (02:18) The Board’s Role in CEO Succession: why succession is about more than hiring and firing the CEO, and why boards should think about the entire executive management team (04:57) Is the CEO You Have Today the CEO You Need Tomorrow? How rapid changes in markets, technology, and industry can change the leadership profile a company...

(0:00) Thank you to everyone who joined the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit (0:30) Intro (1:51) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:38) Start of interview (3:21) Raffaela Rein ’s Origin Story (4:44) Rocket Internet : the “copycat factory,” global expansion, execution, and leadership lessons (8:36) Founding and selling CareerFoundry (9:16) Raffaela’s Board...

(0:00) Thank you to all participants of the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (0:16) Intro *Boardroom Governance YouTube Channel launch . (1:45) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:31) Start of interview.  (3:25) Origin Story of Marc Huffman (6:26) About OnBoard (10:35) AI Risks for SaaS and OnBoard (12:46) Directors Using AI in Shadows . His ide...

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (0:43) Intro (2:08) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:54) Start of interview.  (3:56) Origin Story of Shannon Nash (7:00) Her pivot from Law to Finance (9:15) Her operating and finance career  (12:55) Her experience in tech (subscription businesses) and current COO and CFO role at Vibrant Plane...

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (1:20) Intro (2:45) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (3:31) Start of interview.  (4:55) Origin Story of Sandra Gobert (6:04) Sandra’s Career Path (8:56) Guberna and Board Education. Member of EcoDa . (12:00) Family Firms and Control in EU (13:53) Relationship Agreements Explained (examples, Bpost...

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (1:17) Intro (2:45) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (3:31) Start of interview.  (4:39) AI and Governance Today (5:34) Data Center Politics (reference to moratorium by New York State) (6:48) About the 3rd Rome Conference on AI, Ethics and Governance (9:06) AI Hype and Job Fears (14:45) Birth and...

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (0:55) Intro (2:37) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (3:24) Start of interview.  (4:23) Origin story Mayree Clark (6:08) Origin story Linda Riefler (8:23) About their Leading-Edge Stewardship framework and personal road-map. (11:38) Teamwork and Long-Term Value Creation (16:03) On board diversity...

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (0:55) Intro (2:44) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (3:30) Start of interview.  (4:16) Origin story Marie Bafus (5:30) Origin story Wendy Grasso (7:34) Diving into their article AI in the Boardroom: What Directors Need to Know Now (4:14) Why AI Needs Board Oversight (12:00) Caremark and Oversigh...

(0:00) About the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (0:54) Intro (2:15) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (3:01) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Terry ( E131 ) from 2024. (3:50) About Terry's role as Co-Chair of WilmerHale's Sports & Gaming Practice  (4:52) Sports Investment Boom, now including institutional investors and priva...

(0:00) Intro to this episode (2:52) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (3:39) Start of interview (4:18) Keith Giarman 's origin story. About DHR Global (9:33) Tony Abate 's origin story. Current boards: Wolfspeed , GTT Communications , Mitel , and Tacora Resources . (23:52) Turnaround Board Playbook . Three phases: 1) Fix the balance sheet; 2) Turnaround strategy...

(0:00) Intro *Reference to the Boardroom Governance Summit at Limerick Lane Cellars, Healdsburg, California (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (2:12) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:59) Start of interview.  (4:00) Origin Story of Emily, and Stewardship  (6:15) From Engineer to CEO  (7:14) Companies that she led: Elo Touch Systems (97-00), Capstone Turbine (02-03), Apexon...

(0:00) Intro, *Reference to the Boardroom Governance Summit (Aug 26-27, 2026)  (2:42) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (3:28) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Greg ( E136 ) from 2024. (5:14) Market Boom and AI Supercycle (6:14) AI Is Changing Everything (9:06) How does a VC use AI (venture business: sourcing, selection, and stewardship) (1...

(0:00) Intro (1:47) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:34) Start of interview  (4:12) Laurie's origin story (6:19) From Management Consulting ( Accenture ) to Product Innovation ( Visa ). "What they all had in common was that I got to start with a blank sheet of paper." (8:52) Toward Venture Capital and Board Governance. From Sun Microsystems to Packet Design...

(0:00) Intro (1:34) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:21) Start of interview  (3:20) Marie's origin story (5:19) Career Path in Law and Governance. Her time at HP and Agilent Technologies. (7:50) Transition to eBay  (9:57) Shareholder Activism and eBay's Story * CNBC clip with Ryan Cohen (14:42) Governance Roles and Board Memberships (16:50) Her teaching posi...