Board Member
Good corporate governance is essential for a company to succeed. During the last 15 years I have served on six corporate boards and been awarded Board Leadership Fellow by the NACD (National Association of Corporate Directors).
Effectively governed corporations need to make a special effort to recruit the most skilled and experienced board members possible. This allows them to benefit from a wide range of perspectives.
I believe a board member should actively challenge the CEO and take on an assertive role in helping to strategize on the company’s future path, without getting involved in day-to-day operations. I am never afraid to ask tough questions, give advice, and vote down measures if I disagree with them.
In January 2002 I was appointed to the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad by President Biden.
Corporate boards currently face many challenges, not least of which are digital transformation, cybersecurity, ESG and diversity. The latter, for example, is particularly true for gender diversity, which has largely been ignored outside of the United States until recently.
When serving on a board of directors I see it as my role and responsibility to educate on the risks of poor cybersecurity; implement effective governance practices, including strong corporate policies and compliance with laws and regulations; and to help improve diversity in terms of gender, race, experience, and age in order to better represent the interests of their shareholders.
When board members are successful at practising good corporate governance, a company is more likely to be successful in the long term.
