Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

(0:00) Intro (1:35) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:21) Start of interview (3:00) Jonathan's origin story (5:10) His start in journalism (7:05) Founding Monitor Canada with Roger Martin (1987) (9:43) Transitioning to Deloitte Monitor (2013)  (12:18) About Deloitte Canada’s Podium Club for Directors that he leads. (13:38) How Trump's tariffs may impact Canad...

(0:00) Intro. (1:52) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:39) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Jeff ( E46 from Oct 2021 ) (3:42) On Nasdaq's IPOs in 2024 (180 IPOs raising $23B). Looking ahead in 2025. (6:23) What to expect facing new Administration. Reference to Nasdaq's IPO Pulse Index . (8:59) The three priorities for boards considering an...

(0:00) Intro. (1:47) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:34) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Nora ( E74 from Oct 2022 ) (3:42) About the 2024 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Technology Leadership in the Boardroom: Driving Trust and Value (7:29) On the evolving role of the board overseeing technology and cybersecurity (10:41) On the surge of...

(0:00) Intro (2:06) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:53) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episodes with Joe ( E1 from '20 , E35 from '21 , E84 from '23 , E123 from '24 ) (4:53) The future of the SEC with Chairman Paul Atkins  (6:30) New approach to crypto by SEC (9:40) On the politicization of corporate governance (10:48) On the future of ESG ("Extrem...

(0:00) Intro (1:43) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:29) Start of interview (3:11) Ben's origin story (9:39) His start at Cravath in 2010 (10:54) His time at the U.S. Treasury Department and the White House.  (15:04) About CFIUS.  Reforms from FIRRMA (2018) . Control transactions and minority investments in critical technologies, critical infrastructure, or...

(0:00) Intro. (2:14) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (3:01) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with David ( E24 from Nov 2020 ) (4:22) David's description of the ACGC (7:56) Post-Election Governance Changes (SEC, FTC, etc). ESG and DEI considerations. Federal vs state regulatory matters. (13:06) On crypto and digital assets in the new Trump admini...

(0:00) Intro. (2:09) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:56) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Richard ( E126 from Feb 2024 ). (3:46) About his firm's 2024 SV150 Corporate Governance Report . (9:04) On Virtual (Stockholder) Meetings (89% of SV150). (11:23) Board Committee Structures . Audit, Comp, NomGov, and Others. (14:02) On SV150's appr...

(0:00) Intro. (2:05) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:52) Start of interview.  (3:36) Tom's origin story . (5:37) The start of his career with Merrill Lynch (1991-2008). (7:00) The financial crisis and his transition to the NYSE (2009-2013). (10:53) His time at BlackRock (2013-2022). (15:14) Defining private markets: "VC-backed pre-IPO private companies ty...

(0:00) Intro (3:27) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (4: 14) Start of interview.  (4:56) Drew Shagrin 's origin story. (8:12) David Chekroun 's origin story. (14:15) About the Institute of Corporate Governance at ESCP Business School, based in Paris. (19:13) The focus of ICG between students, alumni, execs, directors, investors, state representatives, judicia...

(0:00) Intro (1:12) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (1:59) Start of interview.  (2:57) Heather Gates ' "origin story." (5:17) Wolfe Tone 's "origin story." (10:23) On the governance of privately-owned businesses . Distinction with having "outside investors."  (15:20) On the nuances of family-owned businesses . *Reference to my podcast series on Succession sh...

(0:00) Intro. (1:20) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:06) Start of interview.  (3:20) Valeria's origin story . (6:14) On joining IBGC , its mission and focus: governance training, research, and regulatory work with CVM, B3, Congress, etc. (9:03) On the 25th IBGC Annual Summit . (11:11) On the state of ESG in Brazil . (15:15) On boardroom diversity in Brazi...

(0:00) Intro. (1:26) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:13) Start of interview.  (3:03) Barry's origin story . (7:00) Barry's board journey. (9:39) On distinctions between serving on public and private company boards: "you have the same fiduciary duties." (11:57) Evolution of boards in the last 30-40 years: "they have evolved for the better, but I don't thin...

(0:00) Intro. (1:25) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:11) Start of interview.  (2:56) Zain Oke 's origin story . (5:08) Dianna Jones 's origin story . (8:25) Dennis Lanham 's origin story . (12:00) How executive education works (as opposed to degree conferring programs) (14:22) On the origin and mission of the Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) program...

(0:00) Intro. (1:30) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:15) Start of interview.  (3:05) Maggie's origin story . (7:08) Maggie's board career . Reference to HBS case study on her . On staying on boards between 8-12 years to remain independent . (10:19) On distinctions between serving on public and private company boards. The role of directors in each. *Refere...

(0:00) Intro. (1:23) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:10) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Peter ( E83 from Jan 2023 ). (3:00) NACD Surveys on Board Practices and Oversight: Private Company Results and Public Company Results . (3:44) 1/ On Technology Oversight : "We are seeing boards go after technology, not necessarily expertise, but e...

(0:00) Intro. (1:03) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (1:50) Start of interview.  (2:24) Cedric's origin story . (4:30) U.S. talent management insights (cultural differences with other countries): current merit . (6:00) On his management career with HP, Visa, and Syncada from Visa (a joint venture between Visa and U.S. Bank). (8:13) His transition to Taulia ,...

(0:00) Intro. (1:03) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (1:50) Start of interview. *Reference to E137 with Coco Brown (CEO of Athena Alliance) . (2:47) Yvonne's origin story . (5:49) Her executive career starting with Accenture, and later with VMware, New Relic, and CEO of Airware and Puppet. (9:03) On her board journey . Distinctions between private and public...

(0:00) Intro. (1:15) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:02) Start of interview.  (2:49) Javier's origin story . (4:31) The blurring lines between VC and PE . Cross-over investors, growth equity investors, and other "alternative" financing. (9:01) On the capital formation cycle . Impact of interest-rates in capital allocation. The VC power law . New VC vehicl...

(0:00) Intro. (1:10) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (1:57) Start of interview.  (2:30) Carol's origin story . (4:34) Evolution of corporate governance in Canada since the late 1980s.  (5:51) The origin and focus of her firm Hansell McLaughlin Advisory Group , based in Canada. (10:13) On her personal board career and the benefits of lawyers serving on boards...

(0:00) Intro. (1:20) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:07) Start of interview.  (2:58) Oliver's origin story . (7:00) His experience in private equity with PE-backed boards . (9:57) About the mission and focus of Nurole , the UK-based board search firm where he serves as CEO.  (12:27) On Nurole's network of 65,000+ board leaders (two parts: free and paid of...

(0:00) Intro. (1:05) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (1:52) Start of interview.  (2:28) Thompson's origin story . (3:42) His startup work at Quizlet (joined a 5 person team) and Stripe (from 2k to 8k employees). Joined Anthropic in early 2023. (6:25) On China-US relations , and the course he teaches at Vanderbilt Law School: Emerging Technologies, Law, and U...

(0:00) Intro (1:20) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:06) Start of interview. (2:37) Natasha's "origin story."  (6:25) On the risks and opportunities for AI . (8:39) On the regulatory landscape of AI in the US. Reference to President Biden's Executive Order . (11:40) On California's regulation of AI (SB 1047). (15:24) On the international AI regulatory land...

(0:00) Intro (1:06) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (1:53) Start of interview. (2:37) Tyler's "origin story."  (4:50) His beginnings at Theranos. (7:07) On the culture of the Theranos , "the company was extremely secretive and paranoid." (9:41) On the lack of equity compensation for Theranos employees. (10:32) On Theranos' board of directors. (16:50) Some of...

(0:00) Intro. (1:39) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:25) Start of interview. Reference to E21 with Ilya Strebulaev from October 2020. (4:01) On why he wrote his book The Venture Mindset : for decision makers in large organizations. (5:37) About the first principle: Home Runs Matter, Strikeouts Don’t . Make small bets vs fear of failure. (7:23) Two types o...

(0:00) Intro. (1:19) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel . (2:05) Start of interview. (2:58) Greg's "origin story."  (5:31) His teaching focus. (8:04) Discussion on startups and venture capital and the era of AI. Behavioral finance and bubbles.  (11:17) Bubbles in private (VC and PE) and public markets. (15:12) Staying private vs going public fundamentals. (20:05)...