In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh speak with Babs Ryan, an innovation executive, board director, and AI strategist with experience spanning global technology, marketing, consumer products, and financial services.

Ryan discusses the evolving role of artificial intelligence in governance, the future of AI on boards of directors, and realistic scenarios for AI adoption, in a discussion about the possible ways AI can be integrated into boardrooms.

The episode also explores broader governance issues, including board refreshment and oversight responsibilities, and how AI could help surface blind spots in leadership decision-making.

Key takeaways

• AI as an accelerator

• Ryan believes that an AI entity on the board could be programmed to make decisions in the best interests of shareholders.

• • AI would be able to look far beyond a typical human board members' scope of knowledge and realm of experience.

• • Organizations should focus on strategic and operational priorities with CEOs applying AI to those priorities, where it would be most effective.

• AI is evolving in the boardroom but not enough to take a board seat, at least in the near future

• Short term: Boards receive education on how to utilize AI as a tool to prepare for meetings, review minutes and retrieve information.

• Mid-term: Focus on strategy and building confidence with AI and use it to challenge assumptions and help identify blind spots and risks.

• • Trust in AI, like trust in new board members, must be earned over time through consistent, reliable contributions.

• • Legal, regulatory, and cultural readiness will ultimately determine how far AI can go, and when, in serving formal governance roles

• Exposing governance weaknesses

• • Concerns about AI exposing bias or underperformance point to broader challenges around board evaluation and refreshment.

• • AI adoption in the boardroom may accelerate necessary conversations about board member accountability, succession, and governance discipline.

• • Strong boards with high-performing directors are more likely to welcome AI-enabled scrutiny.

Quotes

" AI is not a strategy and it's not a product. It's an accelerator, something that helps you do something else better, faster, higher quality."

"People should stop looking for the 'use case' for AI and focus on their current strategic and operational priorities and then apply AI where it makes sense."

"An AI entity on the board… can be programmed to actually give decisions or answers in the best interest of the shareholders, which people don't always do."

Links

The Board Selection Short List: Will It Be You or AI?

Board Search Secrets

Guest Bio

Babs Ryan was chief innovation officer of GE Capital's largest division where one of her many patents generated $800M in incremental revenue. A dual US/UK citizen, she has been onsite in 97 countries. She was a director and audit committee member of Workers Federal Credit Union with $2.6B in assets, overseeing M&A negotiations and CEO succession.

She is strategic advisor for Kintera AI, offering no code back-office processing/reconciliation and regulatory violation remediation for banks; board director and investment committee member at MarTech Main Street, Inc., a private multigenerational family business; and an advisory board director at Aviva Labs, a global beauty/aesthetics manufacturer and distributor.

Babs has also served as CEO of a marketing agency acquired by WPP, SVP of innovation at Capgemini's product design division (AI, digital twins, biosensors, MedTech, robotics), Agile principal at Thoughtworks, and GVP digital transformation at Publicis Sapient.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Gary Evee, cybersecurity leader and founder and CEO of Aprivé. His company is pioneering a concierge approach to cybersecurity protection, providing services that protect high-value individuals and families from the digital threat landscape.

Drawing on more than 25 years of experience across IBM, cybersecurity leadership, and board service, Gary explains how breaches increasingly originate through individuals rather than systems.

He highlights how personal devices, home networks, and online data exposure create vulnerabilities for executives and board members, and why cybersecurity must extend beyond the corporate perimeter He currently serves as the board director of Aware Inc. and is a trustee of Dedham Savings Bank.

Key takeaways

• People are the primary cybersecurity risk

  • Most breaches target individuals and start in simple ways with phishing emails, password reuse, or compromised personal devices.

  • In cybersecurity, people are the weakest links and organizations often lack in providing continued digital protection for executives once they step outside the company's firewalls

  • Home networks and personal accounts often lack even basic security controls and so cybersecurity is a risk for anyone that works remotely, travels, or brings their work home from the organization. It can even impact your family.

• Aprivé: Personal and enterprise-grade cybersecurity

  • The company offers a white-glove services that protect individuals, their home network, devices and digital footprint

  • Aprivé is unlike other cybersecurity companies and proactively helps people get the protection they need in places outside of the enterprise

  • Aprivé's services cover six pillars

  • Password and credential security

  • Home network hardening

  • Mobile and personal device security

  • Online identity and digital footprint management

  • Financial and account monitoring

  • 24/7 concierge support and incident response

• Boards and executives are high-value targets with outsized exposure

  • Even the best board portals don't flag when a non-authorized user logs in with stolen credentials taken from a phishing malware or compromised device

  • When an attacker gets access, they can gather information that could lead to reputational damage

  • Aprivé's services ensure everyone within the enterprise is protected, assessing the vulnerability of each individual — especially the C-suite

  • The company also serves high profile and public figures

Quotes

"People continue to remain the weakest link."

" What we found was [people-C-suite leaders and High-value individuals] oftentimes have no one thinking about protecting them once they left the organization."

"Even the best board portals assume that the person that's logging on is legitimate."

"If I steal your credentials through a phishing malware, a compromised personal device, the system doesn't see me as an attacker, it sees me as a trusted user."

Links

Aprive

Guest Bio

Gary Evee is a visionary entrepreneur, investor, and cybersecurity leader dedicated to redefining how the world's most influential people safeguard their digital lives.

As the founder and CEO of Aprivé, he is pioneering the next frontier of personal cybersecurity, Executive & Lifestyle Defense, a model that blends technology, concierge service, and intelligence to protect executives, high-net-worth individuals, and families from the evolving digital threat landscape.

With more than 25 years of experience spanning technology, cybersecurity, and business transformation, Gary is known for his rare ability to bridge innovation and trust. Before founding Aprivé, he served as an executive leader in IBM's Cybersecurity Business Unit, helping Fortune 500 CEO's and global enterprises navigate emerging threats while scaling IBM's security portfolio worldwide. In addition to his work with Aprivé, Gary founded Evee Security Consulting Group, advising corporations and public institutions on cyber risk management, identity protection, and incident response. He also founded CyberTrust Massachusetts, a pioneering public-private initiative that develops the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through education, workforce development, and real-work defense programs.

Gary erves as a Board Director at Ware Inc. (NASDAW: AWRE), a leading biometrics and identity authentication company, and as a Trustee of Dedham Savings Bank and Charlesbridge Bank. He is also a Visiting Fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University, contributing to national discussions on cybersecurity, policy, and technology innovation.

A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Gary regularly shares insights on executive risk, digital identity, and the future of cybersecurity, empowering leaders to safeguard what matters most in an increasingly complex digital world.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Jon Weber, founder of the Jon F. Weber advisory firm and an experienced board leader in operationally intensive, post-restructured companies. Jon has served on over 50 boards.

Drawing on more than 20 years of experience at institutional investors, including Icahn Enterprises, Goldman Sachs, and Elliott Investment Management, Jon shares what distinguishes a board that genuinely drives change.

The conversation explores how boards are rebuilt following restructurings, why these roles demand significantly more engagement than traditional boards, and how disciplined board composition, leadership, and governance practices can unlock value.

Jon also discusses lessons learned from distressed situations, the importance of strong board chairs, and why many boards fall short of their potential.

Additional Resources

For Jon's articles, podcasts, and webinars on governance and other restructuring-related topics, see https://jonfweber.com/thought-leadership.

Key takeaways

• Early beginnings with operationally intensive investments

  • Throughout his career, Jon had worked for institutional investors who invest in undervalued troubled companies — companies facing challenges relating to talent, strategy, technology, or operational issues.

  • Over the years, Jon has become experienced in overseeing businesses that need very actively engaged boards.

• Post-restructured boards

  • When a company is restructured, it has new stakeholders, owners, and boards of directors.

  • These boards must be built from scratch, with clear governance structures, committee charters, onboarding processes, and an expectation of deep engagement.

  • Jon characterizes these boards as at least "50% more difficult" than traditional boards. Members of post-restructured boards must be willing to accept the challenge to be deeply involved and do the work necessary to make an impact.

• Board composition should start with a scorecard

  • Jon likens effective board building to acting as a "casting director." To effectively create a post-restructured board, one has to study the business, learn the industry and its history, and have a clear, deep understanding of the company.

  • Before candidate interviews, a scorecard with explicit criteria and consensus on what will lead to a high performing board is created to assure that recruiting priorities are clear.

• Strong board leadership is necessary

  • • The board chair must have board experience and preferably board leadership experience.

    • The chair must actively manage the board, set expectations for preparation and behavior, facilitate constructive dialogue, and provide regular, direct feedback to the CEO. Without this strong leadership, these boards tend to drift or defer to management.

• Focus forward, not backward

  • • Jon emphasizes that effective boards minimize time spent rehashing historical results and instead prioritize decision-making, problem-solving, and future-oriented discussions.

    • Preparation before meetings, including sharing questions in advance, enables board time to be used for meaningful conversation rather than passive presentation.

Quotes

• "Because it's a new board, it's not tethered to the legacy of the past."
• "We're not looking for clones of ourselves or people that bring a mirror image of our own beliefs, but rather constructive disagreement at times around particular knowledge of the business."
• " Investors are human, too, they have biases…the bias that investors have is they prefer candidates who tend to agree with their investment thesis and who have a frame of reference that is consistent with theirs."
• "A board that doesn't have a leader ends up being led by management—and that's not good governance."

Links

www.jonfweber.com

Guest Bio

Jon leads an advisory firm that serves investors in operationally intensive investments. Previously, he created and led operating partner groups for over 20 years at institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs, Icahn Enterprises, and Elliott Investment Management. He has impacted dozens of portfolio companies across a broad range of industries through operational engagement, talent management, and effective oversight, in partnership with management, driving change as a board member, senior executive, and board-level advisor in the Americas and Europe.

His roles have included President of Icahn Enterprises, L.P. (NYSE-IEP), CEO of Philip Services Corporation, WestPoint Home, and Viskase, and board member of Aligned Energy, American Railcar Industries, Crescent Communities, Martinrea Honsel, National Energy Group, PLH Group, Promises Behavioral Health, WIND Hellas, Windstream, Xenith Bankshares, and XO Communications.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Weber was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan and a corporate lawyer at Weil. He is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Jon earned a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, and B.S. and M.B.A., magna cum laude from Babson College

In this episode, Joe and Raza speak with Firas Raouf, co-founder and general partner at Companyon Ventures, a Boston-based VC firm specializing in early-stage B2B software and AI startups.

Firas shares insights from 25 years as a founder, operator, and venture investor—helping companies transition from founder-led sales to scalable, operationally disciplined organizations. The conversation focuses on how early-stage founders should think about creating their first board, the mistakes to avoid, and why great board dynamics depend heavily on execution.

Key takeaways

• Career beginnings

• 25 years ago, Firas co-founded three startups — two were during the dot-com era and one that became VC-funded, giving him firsthand experience sitting on the receiving end of board advice and investor expectations.

• Then, Firas was invited to join OpenView while working at Insight Venture Partners and was able to spend 10 years seeing OpenView and its portfolio companies grow.

• Later he co-founded Companyon Ventures

• How Companyon Ventures supports the expansion stage investing

• After early product-market fit, companies hit the "now we need to scale" moment.

• Companyon Ventures specializes in this transition, helping founders build their first leadership team ,operational discipline, KPIs and dashboards scalable go-to-market engines a plan for capital needs

• Early-stage boards are about support

• Firas emphasizes that early boards are not oversight bodies like public-company boards. Their purpose is to surround the founder with people who can help them think strategically, navigate challenges, and build a scalable company.

• A board can include a seat for common shareholders, lead investors and an independent board member, who is someone with whom the CEO is comfortable.

• Since lead investors can become a long-term board member, Founders must evaluate who they are letting in, not only the valuation. Once someone is on the board, they're not easy to remove.

• Boards must evolve as the company evolves

• As companies grow, the expertise they need changes. Firas suggests cycling out board members after two years.

• After 18–24 months, it's common for a board member's value to plateau, making board refreshes, new independent directors, or role rotations both healthy and necessary.

Quotes

• "A happy board tends to reflect great execution. An unhappy board tends to reflect poor execution."
• "I do think that you should keep things fresh, so to speak, and so any board member really that has been there more than two years, it's rare that you haven't picked their brain dry."
• "It's not just about valuation, it's also about who you're going to let into your company, into your house, because once you let them in, you can't get rid of them."
• "The board of directors for an early-stage startup is the opportunity to have a number of people around the table that can help you navigate and scale your company."

Links

Companyon Ventures- Boardroom Confidential

Guest Bio

Firas Raouf is the co-founder and general partner of Companyon Ventures, a Boston-based VC firm that invests in early-stage B2B software and AI startups. Before launching Companyon, Firas was part of the founding team at OpenView Venture Partners, where he helped pioneer the "expansion stage" investment model and partnered with dozens of software founders to scale their go-to-market operations. Today, he focuses on helping founders transition from founder-led sales to scalable growth by building leadership teams, operational discipline, and repeatable GTM engines. Firas is known for his hands-on, operator-turned-investor approach and his passion for guiding first-time founders through the challenges of building high-growth software companies.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh speak with Dr. Linda McGoldrick, an international board director, strategy leader, and policy expert in healthcare and life sciences.

With 30 years of global experience across the U.S., U.K., and European boards, Linda shares what defines high-performing boards, the importance of trust and diversity of thought, and how geopolitical and technological shifts are transforming governance today.

Key takeaways

• Traits of high performing boards

• Regardless of size or geography, effective boards are well-prepared, prioritize meaningful discussion over reporting, and cultivate trust and mutual respect.

• High performing boards all display strong relationships, open communication, and diversity of thought among board members.

• Linda added that values, camaraderie and trust are intangible aspects that are important aspects of a successful board.

• Boards in the U.S. vs the rest of the world

• Linda observed that even in non-English speaking countries, English serves as the universal language for board communications - a reflection of its role as the global language of business

• Boards outside the U.S. place greater emphasis on courtesy, respect, and a thoughtful pace of discussion, reflecting multicultural membership and diverse business contexts.

• Historically, many U.S. boards were more domestically focused, but Linda sees this shifting as companies expand internationally. Directors today are expected to understand global markets, geopolitical dynamics, and comparative business environments.

• Expansion of risk oversight

• Today's boards must monitor not only financial and operational risks but also a host of geopolitical, regulatory, and other related challenges.

• Artificial intelligence impact on boards

• The use of AI has implications of security, benefits, risk and investment as the technology continues to expand and have impacts on economies and society.

• Boards have the responsibility to oversee the implications for organizational strategy and risk management.

• Linda views AI as a valuable efficiency tool, such as bots that summarize materials but stresses that human judgment, discretion, and ethics must remain central to board decision-making.

Quotes

"I don't want to see myself around the table. I want to see a diversity of experience. We all bring certain talents which feed into the most rigorous and robust discussions around board process."

"AI is a global race… I think the human element of discretion and insight is critical to know the line of technical and bot-expertly-fed conversations versus human thoughtful conversations in dialogue.

Guest Bio

Dr. Linda McGoldrick is an international board director and healthcare and life sciences leader with more than 30 years of global executive and governance experience. She serves on the boards of SmileyLife Holding, Alvotech, where she chairs the Audit Committee, and Compass Pathways, and is the Founder and CEO of Financial Health Associates International.

Linda has held senior roles across the U.S. and Europe, including leadership positions at Marsh's Healthcare & Life Sciences practice, Kaiser Permanente's European operations, and Veos plc. She has also served as CEO of the International Diabetes Federation and the Drug Information Association.

A dual U.S.–U.K. citizen, Linda brings deep expertise in global strategy, regulatory environments, and board governance across public, private, and nonprofit organizations.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh speak with John Rose, an international marketing executive, entrepreneur, and board advisor who has led businesses across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

John discusses his global career—from founding the first ad agency in Russia to relocating his company to Dubai and his recent research project, "The Boardroom Blindspot," a global survey exploring why marketing expertise is underrepresented on boards.

He also shares insights from his work with the Virtual Advisory Board and Board Brothers, highlighting the impact that advisory boards are having on governance. John has served as a board member and advisor for several companies, including Atypical Digital, WLB, Cow Level and Harvard Alumni Entrepreneurs.

Key takeaways

1.A global career defined by reinvention

• • John began his career in Boston media and advertising before co-founding the first Western ad agency in what was at the time the Soviet Union. As global markets shifted, he built a thriving international business across Eastern Europe.

  • When the war broke out with Ukraine, he and his team quickly relocated from Russia to Dubai, rebuilding their agency from the ground up and now represents Dubai's tourism in a number of countries.

2. Dubai's culture of openness and innovation

• • John described Dubai as "the city of the future," efficient, safe, and globally connected, with a government and business culture that actively supports growth.

  • Dubai offered a welcoming and dynamic environment for rebuilding. With 90% or more of residents coming from abroad, the city fosters a strong sense of belonging and entrepreneurial energy.

3. The Boardroom Blind Spot

• • John's research survey, conducted with the Virtual Advisory Board*, revealed that fewer than 14% of boards surveyed include directors with marketing expertise. The survey included 416 board members and executives across 46 countries.

  • Results showed that 60% of respondents believe that marketing perspective would add value, but only 11% have addressed the gap.

  • John asserts that boards are still dominated by finance and legal expertise but largely excludes marketing expertise which brings a customer-centric lens essential for growth, purpose, and communication in a rapidly changing world.

4. Preparing marketers to serve effectively on boards

• • John believes marketing professionals must take some of the responsibility for closing the gap by learning to "speak board"-connecting creative and customer insights to business outcomes, governance, and shareholder value.

  • Strategic marketers, especially CMOs and Chief Growth Officers, can bridge this divide by pursuing board education and gaining experience through nonprofit and/or smaller boards.

Quotes

• "86% of companies don't have any marketing expertise on their boards - that's pretty significant."

• "I think we (marketing) are the interpreters. I think we're the people who help cross the gap between what the marketplace wants and desires and what the company can deliver."

Links

The Boardroom Blindspot

Guest Bio

John Rose is an accomplished senior executive, entrepreneur, investor, board member, and creative director with over 30 years of experience leading marketing and media businesses across the U.S., Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. He is a founding member of the Virtual Advisory Board,

co-founder of Board Brothers, and a frequent speaker on global governance and marketing leadership. John's expertise spans brand strategy, international expansion, and board governance, with a special focus on helping companies bridge marketing insight with corporate purpose and growth. He currently resides in Dubai, where he continues to advise boards and global organizations on marketing strategy and board composition.

* The Virtual Advisory Board (VAB) is a virtual and global platform which connects its members and helps them navigate the global board of directors and advisory board ecosystems.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Jim Brown, co-founder of OrgHealth and author of the global bestseller "The Imperfect Board Member."

With 30 years of experience advising boards and CEOs, Jim shares how embracing imperfection leads to stronger leadership, healthier organizations, and better board performance. He dives into the evolution of governance over the last two decades and the cultural challenges boards face today.

Jim also previews his forthcoming book arriving in 2026, "The Imperfect CEO," set 20 years after his first book. The sequel explores the current reality that company leaders face through changes in leadership expectations and workplace culture.

Key takeaways

1.OrgHealth's mission

• • Jim explains that organization health is a focus on culture, the relationship between board members, how they communicate with each other and how they talk about their CEO and management team

  • Companies that seek OrgHealth's consultations need to have a leader who recognizes that they will be making most of the changes and acknowledges that improvements need to be made.

2. "The Imperfect Board Member" philosophy

• • The book tells a fictional story of a frustrated CEO who discovers that in order to make effective change on his board, it begins with self-awareness. Along his journey he discovers "The Seven Disciplines of Governance Excellence: direct, protect, connect, expect, respect, reflect, and select.

  • The key insight from the story is that lasting board transformation requires both individual and collective growth.

3. Challenges adjusting to changes in culture

• • Jim's upcoming book, "The Imperfect CEO," revisits the same protagonist 20 years later as he confronts a new reality of generational and cultural shifts within companies.

  • The issue that company leaders face is being stuck in the mindset that because something worked before, it should still work. But with younger generations entering the company, outdated expectations receive pushback.

4. The ideal board chair

• • A great board chair leads with an attitude toward service, not authority. Their role is to draw out the best from every member, ensure effective discussion, and maintain focus without dominating the conversation.

5. Term limits, a solution to offboarding challenges

• • Jim suggests that rather than making offboarding personal through performance feedback, make it a mechanical process. Term limits also encourage boards to develop the skill and culture to bring in new members and help them learn about the company.

Quotes

• " Culture has become the undercurrent of every organization's reality. And if you don't recognize it, you're going to be blindsided by it."

• " My observation and my personal experience that the way we led as leaders 20 years ago that worked for us, doesn't work today."

• " I think it would just be much more healthy if we let boards be boards of directors where more of their energy is on the direction piece rather than the protection piece."

• " Have enough time for people to learn the job, the organization, and really add value, but not so much time that they become stale."

Links

OrgHealth

The Imperfect Board Member

Guest Bio

Jim Brown is an author, speaker, and board governance advisor with over 30 years of experience helping boards and CEOs build healthier organizations.

He co-founded OrgHealth in 1995, a consulting firm dedicated to improving board and leadership performance through culture, clarity, and accountability. His book, "The Imperfect Board Member" (2006), became an international bestseller.

He currently serves on several boards, including Vanquish Hockey, Amgine Technologies, and previously served on boards for The Global Leadership Network and SigmaDek. His upcoming book, "The Imperfect CEO" (2026), explores how leadership and workplace culture continue to evolve in today's rapidly changing environment.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Jamie Green, co-founder and CEO of Tutaki, an AI-powered workbench designed to make board directors significantly more effective.

Drawing from his background in consulting at McKinsey, Green created a technological solution to solve a widespread challenge in board rooms across the U.S. and abroad: information overload and limited time to prepare. Tutaki is an AI system that acts as an expert co-pilot to help directors surface context, identify risk and deliver impact.

Jamie also shares how AI is reshaping governance, what it means for liability and independence, and where the future of boardrooms may be headed.

Key takeaways

1. Problems with board overload

• During his time as a consultant at McKinsey, Jamie would deliver 300-page strategy decks to board members 48 hours before a meeting
• Directors would arrive unprepared, leading to conservations about updates and recaps rather than strategic discussions. The lack of preparation risked slow decision making and stifles innovation.

2. New Zealand boardrooms

• Jamie, based in New Zealand, said board practices in his home country are similar to the U.S. but New Zealand directors tend to have a wider board portfolio — some are on as many as 8 boards.

• New Zealand has shifted to increase liability for board directors to hold them accountable for reading all board materials. If the business is impacted by the lack of action by a director, they can be criminally liable.

3. Practical pain points that led to Tutaki

• Information overload: directors are expected to digest hundreds of pages, news articles, and compliance documents across multiple boards.
• Contextual awareness: recalling what was decided three months ago or tracking delays in projects across several meetings often requires wading through thousands of pages.
• Portfolio management: professional directors often sit on 5–8 boards, making it difficult to organize materials, track follow-ups, and maintain oversight across them all.

4. AI as a co-pilot, not a replacement

• Tutaki is used to aid directors with meeting preparation by analysing board materials, delivering internal information, relevant news reports, competitor updates and deep dive reports.
• While Tutaki might suggest functions by providing certain information, Green said that the AI serves as a tool and the person using it is still liable
• The AI tool is meant to help directors spend more time doing critical thinking and being effective in meetings by being prepared with the context of the material.

Quotes

• "We help you do the thinking, but the thinking is still yours, and ultimately that's the end game."

• "I think the power of all this stuff is getting you the context in the way that's meaningful as opposed to just dumping hundreds of pages of information that you have to sift through."

• "If you had an AI tool listening to every conversation you had, every email, every document for the last three years on this board, I guarantee it would be a pretty damn good director."

Links

Tutaki

Guest Bio

Jamie Green is the co-founder and CEO of Tutaki, an AI-powered workbench designed to make board directors radically more effective. Drawing on his background in strategy consulting at McKinsey and hundreds of conversations with chairs and directors, Jamie built Tutaki to solve one of the boardroom's biggest challenges: staying on top of exploding information, tightening compliance requirements, and limited time to prepare. Today, directors from over 100 organisations across APAC, North America, and the UK use Tutaki to transform how they prepare, engage, and make decisions.

Jamie is pioneering a new model of "augmented directorship," where AI acts as an expert co-pilot to help directors surface context, identify risk, and deliver 10x impact. With experience across governance, AI product design, and startup leadership, Jamie is at the forefront of the movement to reshape how boards operate in a world defined by complexity, liability, and technological change.

In this episode of On Boards, Dr. Keith Dorsey an executive coach, author, active board member, and expert in leadership development and corporate governance. joins hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh

His book, The Boardroom Journey: Practical Guidance for Women to Secure a Seat at the Table, provides insights and strategies for women aspiring to become board members.

Keith holds a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California and serves on multiple boards including Vimly Benefit Solutions, Pacific Crest Trail Association and Pepperdine University's Graziadio Business School. He discusses his research-based concept of "optimal diversity," which couples demographic diversity and diversity of thought.

His work has been widely published including the Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management, Forbes and Fast Company.

Key takeaways

1.Keith's life in 3 chapters

• Keith started his career in the U.S. military and the Air Force, followed by nearly 30 years working in corporate America. In 2019, he went back to school to get a doctorate in organizational change in leadership from the University of Southern California. Now, he serves as an executive advisor to lead corporate leaders to optimize boardroom practices.

2. What is optimal diversity?

• While getting his doctorate, Keith started to research the lack of gender and ethnic diversity on corporate boards.
• He discovered the concept of "optimal diversity" - the combination of observable diversity and/or demographic diversity along with diversity of thought. This idea encourages people to reflect beyond their observable traits and dive deeper into how their lived experiences and perspectives can contribute to diversity.

3. Pre-vetting: It's about who knows you, not who you know

• Keith found through his studies that executives who serve on boards, were very often seated through their network. When it comes time to recruit another board member the question that is often asked is: "who do we know."
• When it comes to joining a corporate board, it's about who knows you and understands your experience and skills. In addition to giving your "autopilot intro" while networking, he encourages aspiring board members to take a few extra seconds to go beyond the details of your day-to-day job and tell them what you're looking to do.

4. Five different "capitals"

• Keith's book dedicates a chapter to each type of capital: human, social, cultural, director, and commitment.
• During his research, Keith found that women often take the approach of presenting themselves as exceptional executives but not as exemplary board members. He encourages people to optimize their human capital. During board interviews, exhibit the type of behavior that they would want to see in the boardroom.

Quotes

" Optimal" diversity forces people to really reflect and to think about the things that make who they beyond just their observable demographic traits, including their lived experiences.

"It's best to look out the front windshield and be able to say what's beyond that S-curve and that sharp right curve ahead by asking thought provoking questions based on your human capital…instead of looking through the rear-view mirror and shouting your praises."

" Figure out who you are and what your superpowers and secret sauce actually are and then incorporate that in a way of getting your name out there so more people know you than you know"

Links

https://www.boardroomjourney.com/

The Boardroom Journey: Practical Guidance for Women to Secure a Seat at the Table

How Board Sourcing Approaches Contribute To The Corporate Diversity Problem—And What To Do About It

Guest Bio

Dr. Keith D. Dorsey is a researcher, author, advisor, and active board member focused on issues of diversity, governance, and strategic growth for private and public corporate boards. His recent research examined women executives' pathways to securing corporate board seats, yielding powerful insights about the barriers and facilitators unique to women candidates seeking these positions. His book, The Boardroom Journey: Practical Guidance for Women to Secure a Seat at the Table, combines his research insights with his extensive executive, board, and industry experience. He speaks on topics related to governance and navigating the path to the C suite and boardroom. As an executive advisor, he is focused on increasing Optimal DiversityTM within corporate senior management, executive, and board-level roles.

In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaik welcome Suzanne Brown, Director of New York Stock Exchange Board Services. She shares her unique career journey from law and the nonprofit world to board placement leadership at the New York Stock Exchange.

Suzanne unpacks how NYSE Board Services was created to bridge the gap between talented board-ready individuals and the NYSE companies that need them. Suzanne also explains their unique "CEO-vetted" approach, the powerful influence of the NYSE brand, and the structural components that make their board placement program effective and trusted.

Suzanne leads an extensive network of over 1,000 CEO-vetted candidates. The service averages 2 board searches a week for NYSE listed companies and since 2019 has helped place 50+ professionals on corporate boards.

Key takeaways

1. NYSE Board Services background

• NYSE Board Services was created in response to an obvious but under-addressed problem: many qualified candidates were being overlooked for board roles due to lack of network access, not lack of ability. The service is free for NYSE listed companies.

• Every candidate that enters the NYSE Board Services network has been vetted by the CEO of a listed company, who personally nominated them. The Board Exchange connects C-suite professionals with board opportunities, focusing on readiness, visibility, and long-term support.

• The program is made of 3 C's: Council, Candidates and Companies. The council is made up of a group of 24 prominent NYSE CEOs, the program has over 1,100 candidates and there are 2,400 companies with which the NYSE has built longstanding relationships.

2. Education is core to board readiness

• Suzanne explains that many of the candidates are first time board members. The NYSE Board Services team personally onboards each candidate and helps them prepare their profile and present their background, skill set and industry focus.

• Candidates are also offered education through webinars and panels on topics such as global trends, governance, board culture, etc. All services are free of charge.

3. Board tenure is rising, CEO tenure is shrinking

• The average tenure for a board member has increased from 8 to 10 years and continues to increase while the turnover rate for CEOs has gone down to 4.8 years as of last year, the lowest ever.

• The board holds the continuity, but Suzanne encourages startup and pre-IPO companies to proactively set board term limits and retirement ages. This removes the need for awkward conversations years later and helps institutionalize clear expectations for rotation and rejuvenation.

4. Future of NYSE Board Services

• Suzanne's vision for the program is that every nom/gov of an NYSE-listed company will reach out to NYSE Board Services to refresh their board because the service is high-quality, high touch and successful.

Quotes

"Our defining feature, our secret sauce, is that any candidate in our network has to be CEO vetted, and that means that a CEO of a listed company just has to personally vouch and stand for that person."

"We're a trusted resource. It's a natural extension for listed companies to look to us."

"Part of what we do is make sure that our candidates… are aware of trends and understand what it's like to be in the boardroom, which is a unique culture."

Links

nyse.com/board-services

Guest Bio

Suzanne Brown is the Director of NYSE Board Services, an exclusive resource dedicated to connecting highly qualified board candidates with NYSE-listed companies. She partners closely with CEOs and Board Directors to enhance governance practices and strengthen board leadership.

Suzanne leads an extensive network of over 1,000 CEO-vetted candidates, facilitating strategic matches between talented individuals and companies in need of fresh board perspectives. Since 2019, NYSE Board Services has successfully placed 50+ professionals on corporate boards.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Suzanne, earned a B.A. in History from the University of Vermont and a J.D. from Cornell Law School