Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

Start of interview [1:38] Rick's "origin story" [1:55] His "traditional" corporate law practice for 25 years with Morris Nichols in Delaware ("the core of our advice followed two simple rules: shareholders get to elect the directors, and directors run the company for the benefit of those shareholders... all the rest is commentary") [3:45] How his focus changed in 2010 with B Lab 's effort to push...

Start of interview. [1:40] Marta's "origin story" from Brazil to Washington DC [2:21] Her involvement with corporate governance education in Brazil with IBGC [6:31] The impact of Lava Jato (operation car wash) in Brazilian corporate governance (2014) [8:33] Her role coordinating the "comply or explain" Brazilian Corporate Governance Code [11:07] What made her transition from Tozzini Freire to IDB...

Start of interview. [1:40] Linda's "origin story" from Beresford, New Brunswick, Canada. [2:15] The record of five Maxwell sisters at Harvard . [3:56] Her start as a head and neck surgeon. [6:28] Why an MBA at Oxford? [07:20] Her work on life sciences tech transfer at Oxford University Innovation and NHS. [08:25] Her time with the London (UK) Harvard Business School Angels . [11:24] Working with M...

Start of interview [1:40] Nick's "origin story", from New Jersey to California to Japan [3:33] His first board experience with Alps Mapping ('00-'06) [7:34] Why he founded the Board Director Training Institute of Japan in 2009 [12:40] His WSJ article on " Japan's Coming Shareholder Revolution " (2001)  [19:42] Japan's keiretsu system ("a defensive cross-shareholding wall") [21:04] The historical r...

Start of interview [1:44] Miriam's "origin story" from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland [2:17] Her pick for a dual JD/MBA degree [3:16] Her experience as a startup founder in the late 1990s [5:17] Her early experience at Google starting 2001 [07:08] Her focus on angel investing and entry into the VC industry [08:09] Her experience with the Kauffman Fellows Program "they were at the forefront of di...

Start of Interview [1:33] Suzanne's start in the U.S. Air Force [2:50] Her transition to cyber operations [4:25] Suzanne's take on transitioning from the Military to corporate boardrooms [7:25] Adding former military leaders in the boardroom adds to "diversity of thought": "[Board composition] should seek concinnity , rather than falling into the lowest common denominator which would be consensus"...

Start of Interview [1:45] Mervyn King's origin story as an attorney in South Africa [2:51] His first foray into corporate boards and later senior management roles [4:30] Why he was asked to form a Corporate Governance Committee in 1992 [5:30] The call from Nelson Mandela [06:07] Professor Lynn Paine's article: The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership  [9:43] How King framed the role of the c...

Start of Interview [1:30] How Anat's research evolved from corporate finance to corporate governance [3:40] How the Financial Crisis ignited her research interest in the banking sector [4:25] What's "special" about the finance and banking industries? [8:31] Why the lack of equity funding in banking? [10:12] The premise of her book " The Bankers' New Clothes " [11:28] "In banking you can be insolve...

Start of Interview [1:32] Heidi's origin story and career pre-venture capital [2:00] Heidi's first board experience: Great Plains Software prior to its IPO in 1997 [6:01] Joining Softbank Venture Capital ( Mobius Venture Capital ) in 1999 [09:09] The HBS Heidi Roizen Case Study [12:50] Her experience with foreign boards (UK, Canada) and take on transnational directors [16:21] Re-entering the VC ma...

Start of Interview [1:51] How is a16z dealing with COVID-19, plus its new Talent & Opportunity Fund [2:31] Scott's professional background [3:48] The shift from traditional VC firm to Registered Investment Advisor (to pursue investment opportunities beyond traditional equity, such as crypto) [6:00] The governance chapters of his book The Secrets of Sand Hill Road . Distinctions between public and...

Start of Interview [1:22] Kate's path to the Venture Capital ("VC") industry [2:00] Kate's path to serving on boards [5:18] Distinctions between serving on private and public boards [8:43] The investor nominated director [9:10] The role of the independent director [12:47] Directors representing preferred stock, and longer term horizons  [13:51] In a startup board, "all constituents are around the...

Start of Interview [1:51] Motivation for writing her Startup Governance Article [3:22] Why are companies "staying private" for longer [6:18] The JOBS Act amendment of Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act [7:30] Discussion on secondary markets for private shares [10:00] Challenges of startups "staying private forever" [11:54] Distinctions between public and private market regulatory frameworks [13:36]...

His experience in Papua New Guinea [3:57] Sailing in the South Pacific [7:17] His first board: the OK Tedi Development Corporation [12:20] His management roles: Gardiner Capital Group and Weston Foods [17:53] The founding of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance [19:29] Peter Drucker's "Follow the Wagon Train Strategy" [21:35] Board Games (Globe and Mail's ranking of Canada's corporate boards...

Start of Episode [1:31] Luck and skill : "Without luck nothing good happens" [3:21] Joe's experience as a Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission [5:33] Transition from the S.E.C. to Stanford Law School [8:16] The story of Financial Engines [11:04] Taking Financial Engines private [14:54] The Oracle Derivative Litigation Case (2003) [17:17] The KKR board [20:19] The story of Stanfor...

Introducing Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein: Short introduction of host. Premise of the podcast. Description: in-depth interview podcast to learn from some of the top corporate governance experts,  including world-class founders, scholars, board members, executives, investors and more. Thank you for tuning-in, and I encourage you to subscribe to this podcast if you're interested in corporat...