April 30th, 2013 | By Henry Stoever
For corporate directors, time is a valuable resource. As such, I’m frequently asked why directors should carve out three days to attend NACD’s annual Board Leadership Conference, which is held every October in the nation’s capital. To me, it is obvious why those in the boardroom should attend this first-rate conference.
Here are the 10 reasons I shared with our NACD chapter leaders at a recent meeting in St. Louis, Missouri:
- Save $500 when registering by April 30. The NACD Board Leadership Conference is historically sold out, and this three-day conference represents the most important knowledge exchange for the world’s leading directors, C-suite executives, and governance experts.
- For directors by directors. Learn from leading boardroom practitioners, those who have endured many hard lessons you may not want to encounter yourself! Hear firsthand from Laban Jackson, audit committee chair of JPMorgan Chase, about the London Whale controversy and his perspective on the board’s role in risk oversight. Learn more about the shifting landscape of social media from Clara Shih, Starbucks director and CEO of Hearsay. Get the latest on how big data is impacting business with Rich Relevance CEO David Sellinger.
- Get more actionable takeaways than from any other conference. Address persistent challenges and gain “next practices” from your peers on the timeliest and most critical boardroom issues, including human capital management, emerging technology, compensation, and global markets.
- Make your voice heard. Take part in shaping thought leadership and talk to influential legislators, regulators, and stakeholders.
- Sharpen your committee skills. Attend a Sunday Board Committee Forum, including dedicated sessions on audit, compensation, nominating/governance, and risk. Network with peers during breaks following big-name keynote speakers, and share your opinion with peer-led panels and committee chairs who really understand your challenges.
- Get hands-on with social media. Visit our first ever social media learning lab, staffed by experts in the latest social media trends, who can show you the ropes and help you understand how social medial is affecting your business.
- Spark innovative thinking. Participate in active dialogues around Directorship 2020™—NACD’s new initiative—to explore how and why the boardroom will change over the next several years and what you as a director need to know to keep pace. Gain exclusive insights gleaned from thought leaders and directors around the country in a report from our Directorship 2020 regional events.
- Build your network. Exchange ideas with nearly 800 directors from around the world, including those from Akamai Technologies, Ford, JetBlue, JPMorgan Chase, and Union Pacific, to name a few.
- Strengthen your reputation. The most sought-after directors are well informed and well connected. Your participation at this event will earn you recognition for your commitment to continuous learning. For those who have completed the Master Class, this conference confers all the elective requirements you need to become an NACD Board Leadership Fellow.
- Tailor your experience. There’s something for everyone. Join special breakouts for general counsels, private company directors, small-cap directors, and nonprofits organizations. With nearly 50 sessions, choose from unmatched session selection to meet your own boardroom needs and interests.
In my opinion, NACD’s Board Leadership Conference is not only a great value, but an experience every corporate director should take part in.
I look forward to seeing you this October in Washington, D.C. Register here.
Tags: Akamai Technologies, audit, Board Committee Forum, Board Leadership Conference, Clara Shih, compensation, David Sellinger, Directorship 2020, Ford, general counsel, Hearsay, JetBlue, JPMorgan Chase, Laban Jackson, London Whale, Master Class, NACD Board Leadership Fellow, networking, next practices, nominating/governance, Private companies, Rich Relevance, risk, social media, Starbucks, thought leadership, Union Pacific
Posted in Director Education | No Comments »
February 21st, 2013 | By Kate Iannelli
In the last year alone, JPMorgan Chase has been in the news for the “London Whale” trading losses, executive compensation packages, and simply because of its size. Further adding to the company’s media exposure, this week several institutional investor groups—including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust, Hermes Equity Ownership Services, and several New York City pension funds—announced their support for a proposal requesting that JPMorgan’s board name an independent chair.
This announcement is one of many actions recently undertaken by AFSCME to alter the governance structures of publicly traded companies. Last week, the employee union announced its 2013 shareholder proposals, targeting “too big to fail” financial firms and “imperial CEOs.” AFSCME submitted shareholder proposals at 11 companies, including General Electric, Lazard, Lockheed Martin, and Wal-Mart. This is not the first time JPMorgan Chase has been the subject of a proposal to split leadership roles. Just last year, AFSCME submitted a similar resolution, which fell short with 40 percent support.
Despite its failure to attain majority support at JPMorgan, AFSCME claimed victory in 2012 following Goldman Sachs’ appointment of a lead director—a compromise from the union’s original proposal to name an independent chair. Nevertheless, the charge to separate the chair from CEO positions at large financial institutions is an uphill one. According to data from NACD’s 2012-2013 Public Company Governance Survey, just 38 percent of responding companies combine the chairman and CEO positions. At large and mega financial companies, this percentage jumps to 48 percent.
Board leadership has proven to be a divisive topic in the corporate governance sphere. Many investors and governance experts view the combined CEO/chair leadership position as an inherent conflict of interest, as the board—charged with oversight of the CEO—is chaired by the CEO. Additionally, the role of CEO requires a significant time commitment, compounded by the oversight responsibilities of the chairman.
Not all are convinced, however, that separating the leadership positions is the optimal structure for every board. Other governance experts note that the dual sources of authority created with the independent chair may undermine the CEO’s ability to run the company, or may allow the other directors to overly rely on the work of the non-executive chair.
Interestingly, in an announcement earlier this week, Norges Bank Investment Management—the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund—recognized that governance codes cannot be substituted for judgment. It still advocated, however, for separation of the chairman and CEO roles, despite what it sees as a need for additional study.
Tags: 2012-2013 Public Company Governance Survey, Afscme, board leadership, Combined Chairman/CEO position, Hermes Equity Ownership Services, Independent chair, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase, NBIM, Norges Bank
Posted in Corporate Governance, Leadership | 3 Comments »
July 23rd, 2012 | By Henry Stoever
Boardroom leadership skills are developed over time, honed through years of experience and refined through ongoing learning. It is a continuous process, as corporate directors must respond to changing, often volatile, business realities, and the NACD fellowship program is a part of that process.
An NACD fellowship is bestowed on those directors who have gone the extra mile (and more) by completing a rigorous foundation course and elective curricula. The result is a select group of directors who have demonstrated their commitment to boardroom excellence and are prepared to implement leading corporate governance practices in the boardroom.
This week, NACD is pleased to announce a new group of 64 Fellows who achieved this significant credential in the second quarter of 2012. NACD offers two fellowship credentials: the NACD Board Leadership Fellowship for experienced directors and the NACD Governance Fellowship for new and aspiring directors.
NACD Board Leadership Program Fellows (partial listing)
- Maureen A. Breakiron-Evans, director Cognizant Technology Solutions, Stetson University, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh
- John L. Dixon, director Wells Real Estate
- Paul J. Feldman, director TrendIQ and WECC
- Eliza Hermann, director Brightpoint Inc.
- John Hotta, director Lake Washington Institute of Technology
- Beatriz Infante, director Emulex and Sonus Networks
- William T. Keevan, director DeVry Inc.
- Jeffrey W. LeRose, director Southern Capital Ventures, Elon University Love School of Business and Research Triangle Software
- Michael K. Lorelli, director CP Kelco, Rita’s Italian Ices and WaterJel Technologies
- Leslie A. Murphy, director Kelly Services, Vision Service Plan and St. John Health System
- Carol K. Nelson, director Premera Blue Cross and Seattle University
- Marissa T. Peterson, director Ansell Ltd., Humana Inc., Oclaro and Quantros
- John Michael Rauh, director Pioneer Drilling Co.
- Darrell R. Tukua, director Allina Health System, Capella Education Co., Gate City Bank, and MMIC Group
NACD Governance Program Fellows (partial listing)
- Byron Scott Bagby, US Army (ret.), director Prince Hall Shriners Foundation and Westminster College
- Howard Bain, director Nanometrics Inc.
- Daniel H. Bauer, director Association for Corporate Growth
- James C. Baughman, Jr., director Community Trust Bank, Office Suites PLUS, Dupree Mutual Funds
- Selene Benavides, director National Society of Hispanic MBAs
- Roberta S. Brown, director The Nature Conservancy
- Michael F. Canders, director JPMorgan Chase and Company Military and Veterans Advisory Board
- Ivan Ciment, director Tekademic Inc. and SpanTran Inc.
- Mark A. Cohn, director Christopher & Banks Corp.
- Christopher Warren Cole, director Navy Safe Harbor Foundation and Military Bowl
- Brian D. Dittenhafer, director Investors Bancorp
- Jeannine English, director AARP
- Sara Faivre-Davis, director Farmer Mac
- Tony R. Jimenez, CEO MicroTech; director George Mason University Board of Visitors and United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- James J. Kaelin, director Wright Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union
- John E. Lynn, director Wright Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union
- Charles A. Mallon, Jr., director Unitrust Financial Services and Credit Union Mortgage Association
- Beryl Raff, director Group 1 Automotive Inc. and Make A Wish
- Robert Schroeder, director Malt-O-Meal
- Gary D. Speer, US Army (ret.) Kalmar
- Jeff Tetrick, director Pinnacol Assurance
Tags: AARP, Allina Health System, Ansell Ltd., Association for Corporate Growth, Beatriz Infante, Beryl Raff, Brian D. Dittenhafer, Brightpoint Inc., Byron Scott Bagby, Capella Education Co., Carol K. Nelson, Charles A. Mallon, Christopher & Banks Corp., Christopher Warren Cole, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Community Trust Bank, CP Kelco, Credit Union Mortgage Association, Daniel H. Bauer, Darrell R. Tukua, DeVry Inc., Dupree Mutual Funds, education, Eliza Hermann, Elon University, Emulex, Farmer Mac, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, Gary D. Speer, Gate City Bank, Group 1 Automotive Inc., Howard Bain, Humana Inc., Investors Bancorp, Ivan Ciment, James C. Baughman, James J. Kaelin, Jeannine English, Jeff Tetrick, Jeffrey W. LeRose, John E. Lynn, John Hotta, John L. Dixon, John Michael Rauh, JPMorgan Chase, Jr., Jr. a, Kalmar, Kelly Services, Lake Washington Institute of Technology, Leadership, Leslie A. Murphy, Make A Wish, Malt-O-Meal, Marissa T. Peterson, Mark A. Cohn, Maureen A. Breakiron-Evans, Michael F. Canders, Michael K. Lorelli, MicroTech, MMIC Group, NACD Board Leadership Fellow, NACD Governance Fellow, Nanometrics Inc., National Society of Hispanic MBAs, Oclaro, Office Suites PLUS, Paul J. Feldman, Pinnacol Assurance, Pioneer Drilling Co., Premera Blue Cross, Prince Hall Shriners Foundation, Quantros, Rita's Italian Ices, Robert Shroeder, Roberta S. Brown, Sara Faivre-Davis, Seattle University, Selene Benavides, Sonus Networks, Southern Capital Ventures, SpanTran Inc., Stetson University, Tekademic Inc., The Nature Conservancy, Tony R. Jimenez, TrendIQ, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Unitrust Financial Services, Vision Service Plan, WaterJel Technologies, WECC, Wells Real Estate, Westminster College, William T. Keevan, Writght Patman Congressional Federal Credit Union
Posted in Board Composition, Corporate Governance, Director Education, Inside NACD, Investor Relations | No Comments »
Kenneth Daly
Peter R. Gleason
Alexandra R. Lajoux
Henry Stoever
