The Corporate Director Podcast

As companies face increasingly existential threats to business and to society as a whole, how should corporate leaders grapple with these issues to foster positive change? Debbie Alvarez-Rodriguez, board member at Recology, and Kathryn Cartini, co-founder of Chloe Capital, give their insights and advice.

In our 50th episode special, hear from Diligent CEO Brian Stafford and COO and President Lisa Edwards for an in-depth discussion of modern governance: what it means to them, why it’s so important, how it’s changing, and what to expect for the future of governance.

Which issues are top priority for directors as we head into 2021? How confident are they in economic conditions, now and in the future? What trends in director sentiment are we likely to see continue this year? Melanie Nolen, Research Director for Chief Executive Group and Research Editor for Corporate Board Member Magazine, weighs in with results from Corporate Board Member and Diligent Institute...

With the pandemic, wildfires, flooding and more catastrophic events, ESG issues will only grow in prominence this year, but effective ESG metrics and disclosure remains elusive for many companies. In this episode, Kristen Sullivan, leader of sustainability and KPI services at Deloitte, provides a practical insights on ESG metrics and disclosures for corporate directors.

Having the right people in the room is critical to a board’s success—yet are today’s governance professionals getting the most out of their evaluations? In this special 3-part series, TK Kerstetter, facilitator of over 25 evaluations, talks about process, ways to make progress, and the importance of leadership and culture.

Having the right people in the room is critical to a board’s success—yet are today’s governance professionals getting the most out of their evaluations? In this special 3-part series, TK Kerstetter, facilitator of over 25 evaluations, talks about process, ways to make progress, and the importance of leadership and culture.

Having the right people in the room is critical to a board’s success—yet are today’s governance professionals getting the most out of their evaluations? In this special 3-part series, TK Kerstetter, facilitator of over 25 evaluations, talks about process, ways to make progress, and the importance of leadership and culture.

At the end of a pivotal and unprecedented year, hosts Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan Day are joined by TK Kerstetter, host of Inside America’s Boardrooms for 2020 highlights and predictions for 2021. Spoiler alert: last year’s predictions for 2020 were a bit off in one big way.

Has 2020 brought a real shift in terms of diversity and board recruiting—and what more needs to be done? Felicity Hassan from the executive search firm Audeliss talks about shared accountability, intersectionality, pipelines, privilege, and more.

From rethinking committee structures to navigating COVID-19, change, and ESG expectations, boards had a lot on their plates in 2020. Governance expert and former general counsel/corporate secretary Doug Chia shares his observations and recommendations.

PwC’s Annual Corporate Directors Survey is out for 2020, a year truly like no other. Leah Malone, a director in PwC’s Governance Insights Center, shares the latest findings including how DE&I is factoring (or not) into board composition and executive compensation. Then we speak with Melanie Nolen, Director of Research for Corporate Board Member about the latest Director Confidence Index create...

What does it take to move the needle on board diversity—and help first-time board members truly have a voice in the board room? To gain some insights on recruitment, refreshment, and new member empowerment, podcast co-host Dottie Schindlinger talks to Coco Brown, founder and CEO of the Athena Alliance.

What does it mean to be a good employer and corporate citizen today? JUST Capital CEO Martin Whittaker talks about changing roles in 2020, the challenges of ESG reporting, and what boards should thinking about leading up to the US presidential election.

How can boards accelerate movement on diversity? Evaluations, mentorship, and initiatives like Board Ready can help—and strengthen boards’ responses to today’s “triple pandemic” of COVID-19, its economic repercussions, and systemic racial injustice.

What does a high-performing board look like in 2020, already a year like no other? To gain insights, podcast co-host Meghan Day talks to Anna Catalano, who serves on the boards of Willis Towers Watson, Kraton Corporation, HollyFrontier Corporation, Frontdoor, Inc., and Appvion.

“We may vote against the election of directors where we have concerns that a company might not be dealing with E&S factors appropriately.” This new addition to BlackRock’s corporate governance and proxy voting guidelines shifts ESG from “an afterthought to a strategic imperative” for boards, says Helle Bank Jorgensen, a globally recognized sustainability, climate change, and ESG expert. To hel...

In the tumultuous year that has been 2020, it might seem prudent for companies to hunker down, lower expectations, and put proactive strategy on the back burner until the business climate stabilizes. Resist that urge, Shellye Archambeau says. Archambeau was among the first Black female CEOs in Silicon Valley when she held that post at MetricStream, a platform and software provider in the governanc...

The pandemic is transforming how corporate boards conduct business. For starters, with months of virtual meeting experience now behind them, most board members have largely mastered this tricky terrain. Can boards apply the best habits of today’s virtual meetings to more effective operations beyond the COVID-19 crisis? Eileen Kamerick brings a particularly rich perspective on the subject. She serv...

Declining foot traffic. The migration to digital and e-commerce brands. More globalization and lower barriers to entry. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic sent in-store shoppers and their wallets home for months, the future of retail has been called “dire” and “apocalyptic.” Have online retailers like Amazon won the battle for good? Anddria Clack-Rogers Varnado brings a dual perspective to this que...

At the beginning of 2020, the environmental, sustainability/social, governance (ESG) discussion centered around climate change. What a difference a few months makes. The pandemic shutdowns, worldwide outrage over police brutality and systemic racism – what does it all mean for boards? Roy Dunbar brings a multi-faceted perspective from executive leadership roles at Network Solutions, MasterCard, an...

On this week’s episode, hosts Dottie Schindlinger and Meghan day reflect on the recent events, and how corporate leaders are responding to the #BlackLivesMatter protests and denouncing racism and police violence. Then, Meghan shares her previously recorded interview with Larry Clinton, President of the Internet Security Alliance, on the huge uptick in cybercrime during the pandemic. According to L...

Executive compensation has gotten complicated. Succession planning – for more roles than just the CEO – has risen to the fore. Meanwhile, stock price volatility is spurring a rise in activism, inspiring shareholder rights plans, and tempting hedge funds. Dawn Zier, a board member for Spirit Airlines, brings insights from an industry hard hit by COVID-19, as well as perspectives from the board of H...

One “business” that’s thriving during the coronavirus crisis is cybercrime, which has increased four-fold since the start of the pandemic, according to the FBI. In this episode, we speak to Bob Zukis, CEO and founder of the Digital Directors Network about where boards are at in terms of preparedness, and how “digital directors” can help. Zukis is a leading advocate for digital diversity in the cor...

During the COVID-19 crisis, when we most need a strong and robust healthcare system, healthcare leaders have faced unprecedented challenges. From canceling lucrative elective procedures at already cash-strapped facilities, to obtaining and allocating vital resources, to navigating evolving conditions—and standing up to skeptics—while battling a deadly virus, hospital and health system leaders have...

Is it right to order grocery delivery during a pandemic? What measures should companies take to protect employees during a lockdown? As the COVID-19 crisis places ethical questions like this in the forefront, Global Ethicist Dr. Andrea Bonime-Blanc shares her views on the podcast. Dr. Bonime-Blanc has built a career around helping corporations, governments, and nonprofits navigate ethical issues,...