“Translating Corporate Culture Across Borders” is a favorite subject of mine. I very much enjoy speaking about what I believe corporations need to be mindful of when they expand their operations overseas or when they acquire a business in another country. The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) invited me to be a speaker at its annual Board Leadership conference again yesterday and we had a spirited discussion on this subject. Both Dennis Whalen (partner-in-charge and executive director of KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute) and Orlando Ashford (a senior partner at Mercer) contributed key points on what it takes to effectively deal with an increasingly diverse, global workforce.
We focused part of our discussion on how globalization impacts board composition. Several multinational corporations have experienced what I would refer to as embarrassing “global missteps” (e.g., Home Depot in China, Walmart in Germany, Daimler in America) over the past ten years while others (e.g., Tata and Jaguar) have been surprisingly successful. I believe board composition has played a role in each of these successes and failures. #NACDBLC
Michael Marquardt serves as a global business advisor and speaker to corporations in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He works closely with the CEO and members of the senior leadership team on issues strategic to the enterprise and advises Audit Committees and Boards of Directors on effective risk management measures, corporate governance, and emerging technology issues.
