Corporate Board Member
Since 1998, Corporate Board Member has served as the preeminent board leadership publication for directors and senior executives of publicly traded companies.
Insights
Analysis and perspective on the most important governance issues facing boards today.
The number two role offers an extraordinary vantage point and genuine preparation for the top job. But the moment the promotion happens, the structure changes, the exposure expands and the decisions carry a different weight.
Sixty percent of directors say their boards have increased time on risk oversight over the past two years—but fewer than half report closer integration with strategy.
The biggest opportunity is emerging before the search begins.
Recent data finds a widening confidence gap between first-time CEOs and the directors who oversee them. How quickly organizations close it will shape oversight in the years ahead.
Carrying reasoning and decision history forward is becoming more urgent as directors adopt AI tools faster than boards establish policies for their use.
The central question is no longer whether your board has the right leader at the top, but whether your board has the lens to know.
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Digital version of the latest articles published in Corporate Board Member.
In a new book, bestselling author James Patterson’s lifetime of upending the status quo offers a roadmap for leaders stuck in neutral.
Raj Gupta, veteran of 15 public company boards, including Hewlett-Packard, DuPont, Tyco, Arconic, Airgas and Delphi/Aptiv, says a new era of disruption requires a new kind of governance. More strategic. More engaged. More focused. His playbook for a brittle, anxious, nonlinear and incomprehensible world.
With informers and subpoenas, the Trump administration wants to root out preferences of any kind.
As history shows, boards that cling to static models risk falling behind. Here are six strategic moves to help boards refresh their composition, stay ahead of disruption, and build governance fit for the future.
An M&A surge has seemed imminent for years, but even a more favorable regulatory environment, increased private equity sales and strong corporate balance sheets may not be enough to get things going in 2026.
Record-high turnover at the top hasn’t unnerved boards, but a new survey by Corporate Board Member and Farient Advisors points to potential vulnerabilities.
Research
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Carrying reasoning and decision history forward is becoming more urgent as directors adopt AI tools faster than boards establish policies for their use.
Such minimal support of anti-DEI proposals across several categories indicates shareholder interest in this issue appears to be waning.
Allbirds’ dramatic transformation into an AI infrastructure company highlights a question more boards may soon face: When does protecting shareholder value require abandoning the original business model altogether?
A new survey by Corporate Board Member and Diligent Institute finds boardroom adoption rising while formal governance continues to lag.
As investor stewardship becomes more technology-enabled, successful outcomes will depend on these factors.
Given the restrictive governance structure SpaceX is pursuing, boards might consider asking some of the following questions at their next meeting.
Independent director Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn says the boards that will win with AI are not the ones chasing shiny tools, but those using them to deepen oversight, sharpen risk governance and push management toward data-informed, future-focused decisions.
Peer-juried award, presented in partnership with AlixPartners, recognizes independent director who steadied Royal Caribbean through its record post-Covid recovery.
BP’s leadership turmoil may look like a hiring problem, but it points to a deeper governance challenge, with research suggesting boards spend enormous effort selecting leaders and far too little helping them succeed.
Allbirds’ dramatic transformation into an AI infrastructure company highlights a question more boards may soon face: When does protecting shareholder value require abandoning the original business model altogether?
Treating AI as a smarter board book will miss the point, says technologist Florin Rotar: The real shift is using it to change how directors prepare, question and decide.
Overloaded directors, slow risk response and gaps on digital transformation are hampering board performance. Consider these fixes.
Sixty percent of directors say their boards have increased time on risk oversight over the past two years—but fewer than half report closer integration with strategy.
Against a backdrop of accelerating disruption across technology, geopolitics and talent markets, making ever-faster, high-stakes decisions with increasingly imperfect information is the norm. Here’s how six CEOs are adapting.
Quarterly reviews often fixate on past performance, but CEOs and board chairs who deliberately carve out time for strategy can unlock the board’s full potential as a driver of long-term growth.
Spring, summer, fall, winter. McKinsey’s Carolyn Dewar on how directors can help their chief executive succeed at every stage of their ‘year.’
Boards are already moving toward more continuous, forward‑looking governance, but the next phase will demand bolder changes to agendas, data, tools and talent.
More than a third of large organizations are undergoing business transformations at any given time, but only about 12 percent achieve their original ambition. Here’s what goes wrong, and how boards can help.
CEO mega grants almost never fail on performance design. They fail on succession risk—and boards are still asking the wrong questions.
Organizations must adopt different talent and compensation strategies for frontier AI creators, product builders, and AI-enabled workforces.
If mandatory say-on-pay requirements disappear for most public companies, boards may face a new challenge: demonstrating compensation discipline and alignment without a recurring shareholder vote.
As technology transforms how companies compete, grow and operate, how should adoption flow through to pay practices?
A well-crafted STI plan is a powerful tool for focusing leadership attention, reinforcing strategic priorities and translating operational performance into pay outcomes.
A switch to semiannual reporting isn’t just a procedural shift; it could change how companies manage executive pay, disclosure and insider trading.
Recent data finds a widening confidence gap between first-time CEOs and the directors who oversee them. How quickly organizations close it will shape oversight in the years ahead.
Independent director Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn says the boards that will win with AI are not the ones chasing shiny tools, but those using them to deepen oversight, sharpen risk governance and push management toward data-informed, future-focused decisions.
A new survey by Corporate Board Member and Diligent Institute finds boardroom adoption rising while formal governance continues to lag.
Treating AI as a smarter board book will miss the point, says technologist Florin Rotar: The real shift is using it to change how directors prepare, question and decide.
With the rise of agentic AI, implementing comprehensive governance is more important than ever.
A new Chief Executive Group – Long-Term Stock Exchange survey of CEOs and board members finds lots of AI excitement and investment, as well as worrisome gaps in governance, strategy and safety.
The number two role offers an extraordinary vantage point and genuine preparation for the top job. But the moment the promotion happens, the structure changes, the exposure expands and the decisions carry a different weight.
The biggest opportunity is emerging before the search begins.
The central question is no longer whether your board has the right leader at the top, but whether your board has the lens to know.
BP’s leadership turmoil may look like a hiring problem, but it points to a deeper governance challenge, with research suggesting boards spend enormous effort selecting leaders and far too little helping them succeed.
The board’s smooth Cook–Ternus handoff was the product of years of disciplined pipeline building, culture oversight and honest CEO–board dialogue that most companies never get around to.
CEO turnover creates uncertainty fast, especially when employees lose sight of the company’s core values. Organizations that anchor operational change to cultural continuity are better positioned to maintain trust and momentum.
Showing up during times of transition, with empathy and sincerity, will do more for trust than any polished talking points ever could.
Communication during disruption is not simply a management function but a governance responsibility.
As investor influence expands beyond earnings season, companies need better ways to control their narrative.
Boards should lean into early shareholder engagement, tighter legal framing and proactive transparency on workforce metrics to reduce litigation risk and preserve flexibility.
How vote projections guide board decision-making on proxy proposals.
The targeted companies (and others) will now need to determine whether their company is engaged in any controversial social issues and develop strategies to defend against having their business policies labeled as “woke,” or worse, illegal.
Even as boards face rising pressure from anti-DEI activists, directors can safeguard board diversity by shifting from easily attacked written policies to resilient, performance-driven selection practices.
The difference between ‘useless’ and ‘fantastic’ isn’t always performance—sometimes it comes down to chemistry.
With informers and subpoenas, the Trump administration wants to root out preferences of any kind.
In today’s climate of volatility and reinvention, boards that view workforce planning as an HR sidebar are missing a vital lever for value creation.
How boards can understand, oversee and hold management accountable for building and sustaining a resilient corporate culture.
A new workforce study shows today’s workers are feeling the squeeze from flatter management layers, tighter salaries and more.
Given the restrictive governance structure SpaceX is pursuing, boards might consider asking some of the following questions at their next meeting.
With this IBM settlement under its belt, the DOJ may continue its anti-DEI enforcement efforts at an accelerated pace. What boards should consider.
Companies doing business in the EU face a slew of broad, demanding reporting requirements—with possible enforcement by Delaware courts.
Boards should lean into early shareholder engagement, tighter legal framing and proactive transparency on workforce metrics to reduce litigation risk and preserve flexibility.
Meta just paid $190 million to settle a privacy lawsuit—and it won’t be the last. With privacy laws multiplying across the globe and AI raising new risks, boards need to make three critical moves before 2026.
Research suggests proxy advisors’ influence on shareholder votes is far more limited than critics claim, raising questions about whether restrictive executive orders are the right policy response.
Given the restrictive governance structure SpaceX is pursuing, boards might consider asking some of the following questions at their next meeting.
Shareholder activism is on the rise and could accelerate under the Trump administration, which will bring new focus to the role of proxy advisory firms.
Elon Musk’s recent bid for the Tesla board to invest in his new AI startup leads to questions about where boards should draw the line.
A letter the shareholders sent to the board suggests several factors that might have influenced these directors to step down.
The possibility of a CEO using or abusing illegal substances or prescription drugs presents several questions for the boardroom.
C-Suites will soon be responsible for integrating modern sustainability strategies within their organizations’ financial reporting—and boards will be responsible for oversight—but many don’t know where to start or how to track emissions.
As more companies consider reorganizing their boards to better compete in an extremely unpredictable marketplace, it’s important for board members to proactively take stock of their expertise.
New appointments highlight a strong preference for seasoned leaders with global and cross-sector expertise—prompting fresh questions about board succession and generational balance.
New to board service? These recommendations can help put you on the right foot in your first role—and serve as a guide for improvement.
From intensifying shareholder expectations to ever-evolving technology and pricing strategies, directors share insights on navigating the cross-currents facing today’s boards.
From sports achievement and political stardom to stellar service in corporate boardrooms, J.C. Watts shares the elements of an approach that has made him America’s top value-creating director. ‘If there’s no integrity, strategy doesn’t matter.’
The ruling may ease some directors’ minds, but it doesn’t mean the end to similar lawsuits in the future. Here’s what boards should consider now.
