On Boards Podcast

In this episode of On Boards, Chris Cuddy, a seasoned executive and board leader with over 25 years of experience growing technology-enabled companies in both the private and public sectors shares invaluable insights into the evolution of a company’s board as it progresses through different growth stages.  He discusses how the board’s role shifts over time from hands-on support to formal governance.

His unique perspective is informed by his extensive career, including key roles in companies like Cheapflights, Engage, and ezCater, as well as his background in consulting, investment, and board leadership.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. Stages of Board Evolution in Startups
   • Seed Stage: Founders are often the primary board members, with activities blurred between governance and management. Chris recalls the “early days” of ezCater, likening the stage to “two founders and a PowerPoint.”

• Startup Stage: Boards begin to focus on defining product-market fit and may introduce angel investors. Chris describes his hands-on involvement with ezCater at this stage, from customer calls to financial planning.

• Growth Stage: The board’s role formalizes with the introduction of venture capital. The addition of independent board members and committees becomes essential in order to scale. Chris shares how ezCater’s board evolved to support rapid expansion across the U.S.

• Maturity Stage: The board is now primarily focused on governance, with a clear distinction between board and management roles. Chris reflects on how the board transitions into “maintenance mode.”

• Renewal or Decline: Boards help strategize paths to either reinvigorate or prepare for acquisition. Chris recounts his experience with Engage, navigating challenges during the tech bubble burst.

1. Key Traits of a Functional Board
   • Selecting board members with domain expertise, cultural fit, and a shared commitment to supporting the company.

• Chris discusses the importance of a highly functional board in advancing a company’s mission and creating stability.

1. The Role of the Board Chair
   • Chris highlights the importance of the board chair as a bridge between the founders and board members, ensuring transparent communication and balanced input.

• He shares insights on the unusual longevity of his role as ezCater’s board chair, attributing it to his ability to adapt as the board and company evolved.

1. Unique Challenges and Responsibilities in Early-Stage Boards
   • Chris describes the blurred line between governance and management in the initial stages, emphasizing that board members may often act as extensions of the executive team, especially in strategic, operational, and fundraising efforts.

1. Building the Board with Intentionality
   • Chris emphasizes the importance of selecting investors who bring value beyond capital, often influencing the board’s dynamic and direction.

• Chris and Raza discuss the need for careful vetting of potential investors and board members to maintain a cohesive and effective board culture.

Memorable Quotes:

• Chris Cuddy on the role of the board in the growth stage: "The ambition and time frames often require venture capital, but this step requires serious reflection. ‘Will this change the DNA of the company?’”
• Board dynamics: “A functional board isn’t just about expertise—it’s about cultural fit and motivation to support the founders and company’s best interests.”
• On the board chair’s responsibilities: “The chair is a bridge between board members and founders, ensuring transparent communication and insuring that everyone’s voice is heard.”

 Takeaways for Board Members and Founders:

• Understand the shifting role of the board at each company growth stage.
• Prioritize a balanced board composition that brings both expertise and alignment with the company’s culture.
• In early stages, board members often play a quasi-executive role, actively participating in operational decisions.
• For sustainable growth, founders and the board must align on long-term vision, values, and expectations for governance.

Episode Summary In this insightful episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Pam Lenehan, a seasoned board member with over 22 years of experience on public company boards. Pam offers an in-depth look at the evolving responsibilities of boards and their members, including critical areas like cybersecurity, ESG, and CEO succession.

Drawing on her experience across seven public company boards, Pam discusses the increasing complexity of board roles, committee responsibilities, and the importance of a collaborative, learning-focused approach for today’s directors.

Key Topics Discussed:

1. The Expanding Role of Boards in Risk Management
   • Pam explains how boards are increasingly required to manage a broader spectrum of risks, from cybersecurity and AI to unexpected events like pandemics. She highlights the need for board committees (audit, compensation, technology) to coordinate their oversight on key issues and work with management to stay proactive.

1. Board Dynamics: Shifts in Meeting Structure and Time Commitments
   • The increased reliance on digital platforms has, among other things, led to voluminous board materials, often reaching hundreds of pages. Pam shares how boards are restructuring their meetings to prioritize discussion over presentation, with a growing emphasis on pre-meeting preparation.

• Pam notes how the frequency of both board and committee meetings has increased, with some public company boards now often holding eight or more meetings annually.

1. Maintaining Collegiality Amid Virtual and Shorter In-Person Meetings
   • As more meetings shift online or the agenda is so packed it leaves little time for social interaction, the value of planned social opportunities, even brief breaks, to foster trust and rapport among board members. Pam’s insights on “planned socialization” underscore its role in facilitating effective communication and decision-making.
2. Evolving Expertise on Boards: Moving Beyond Generalists
   • With a growing need for specialized knowledge in finance, industry, and technology, boards are increasingly composed of directors with specific expertise. Pam shares practical advice on balancing specialized skillsets and emphasizes that most board member should still possess a solid understanding of broader governance areas, even beyond their primary expertise.

1. The Role of the Board Chair and Lead Director
   • Raza and Pam discuss the crucial role of the board chair in ensuring all voices are heard and the board remains aligned. With a diverse array of specialists now joining boards, the chair’s leadership is increasingly important to synthesize perspectives and guide effective discussions.

1. The Influence of Shareholder Activism and Public Company Challenges
   • Pam recounts her experiences with shareholder activists, noting how modern boards must be prepared to engage with sophisticated activist stakeholders. For directors, understanding activist perspectives and strategizing responses requires both diplomacy and transparency.

1. The Time Commitment of Board Service
   • For anyone considering board service, Pam provides a candid look at the significant time and energy required. Acknowledging that board roles demand consistent weekend reading and adaptability for unscheduled meetings, she advises prospective directors to consider the full requirements of a board commitment before joining a board.

1. Continuous Learning and Networking for Directors
   • Pam discusses the importance of ongoing education in governance, such as through the NACD, board excellence centers, and director forums. She advocates for cultivating networks with other directors to share experiences and insights, particularly on emerging or complex issues.

1. Supporting Diversity and Inclusion on Boards
   • A proponent of diverse board representation, Pam shares her efforts to mentor women preparing for board roles. She encourages both current and aspiring board members to seek education and develop networks that enhance board diversity and effectiveness.

In this episode, Christopher Mirabile, Executive Chair of Launchpad Venture Group, explores the pivotal role of boards in startup companies and discusses how boards can be both a critical support system as well as a driver of success.

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

“Life is too short to suffer with the wrong people in your boardroom.”

Startup Boards are different, but still vitally important

“Boards have featured prominently in my entire professional life.”

“When I was a consultant with the strategy group at Pricewaterhouse, ultimately our work was commissioned by boards and delivered to boards, and those board presentations when I was lucky enough to be in the room as a young person on the team were some of the most high-pressure situations that I ever was in professionally and left a real impression on me.”

“When I got into the startup world, I sort of had to unlearn a certain amount of what I’d learned about boards and moved to the end of the spectrum where boards provide as much mentoring and business value as they do governance.”

“Startup boards tend to be a little smaller, a little bit more nimble and often the membrane between shareholders and directors is much thinner because you often see meaningful representation direct from the shareholder base on the board.”

“When you run into resistance from a founder [about a board], it's often really more of an educational journey than a negotiating journey to try to get them to understand the value of a board.”

Why is a board important for a startup?

Your investors want it and you're not going to be able to raise money without it and why would you reinvent the wheel when you can have people who made those mistakes before and can help you avoid wasted time and wasted resources.

“A big part of what [we] do is help CEOs understand that …if you go into a relationship with your board, it's sort of like an intellectual partnership where you bring the courage to admit you don't have all the answers and you really seek to draw the wisdom out…” 

…If you show me a CEO that's failing, I'll show you a board that's failing to support that CEO properly …

Attitude of Startup board members

“I don't want to be anywhere near the blast radius of a startup that fails, so I want to make sure that this company is going to succeed…”

Feedback to CEO after a Board Executive Session

A great way to give feedback after an executive session is: "Hey, let's just do a little case study here. In the meeting, you said this, here's what they heard..." and then it's not an in-your-face criticism, it's just helping them understand how they're being perceived and how their choice of words and their manner of speaking and their style affects the impact of their communications…I think that can be a very effective non-confrontational way to give quick feedback to a CEO. 

The Independent Member of a Startup Board

“What we're looking for is two things. One is the avoidance of some negatives and the other is certain positives. I'll start with the avoidance of the negatives.

We don't want an inexperienced blowhard who has a lot of ego involved in telling people what to do and insisting that their advice be followed, and someone who contributes to a board meeting in a manner which sucks all the oxygen out of the room and makes it super awkward to disagree with them. 

We're looking for someone who has a little bit of experience, understands boards are a working thing and that startups are an imperfect science and they're not going to be a disruptive or difficult board member. That's the kind of the key negatives that we're looking to avoid. 

In terms of the positives, really, we want someone who understands the industry dynamics, understands the players, knows who the company and the CEO should be talking to, and has that bigger perspective, who can put the day-to-day operational challenges of the company into a broader industry context, and then ultimately make introductions when it's time to find additional investors or exit the company. 

So, all we need is a well-behaved genius. It's easy.”

Training Board Members

“Launchpad now has at least 50 portfolio companies and 40 Launchpad members are either in the boardroom as a director or an observer. That's a pretty large portfolio of board members and observers that the group is adding as human value to the companies.”

Our training consists of three things.

·      One is expectation setting and accountability,

·      The second is we tend to give the newer investors in our group an opportunity to serve as an observer under an experienced board member for at least a year so they get a little bit of a sense of what it’s about.

·      The third piece is really traditional training and that consists of training we do before they serve on the board and then ongoing training after they've begun. The training we do before is basically making them read the director's guidebook that Ham and I wrote, which really covers all of the basics, and we go to great pains to say, "No, we really mean it when we say we want you to read this. Don't come to the class if you haven't read it because we'll know."

·      Then we do a class where we give them an opportunity to discuss questions and things that weren't clear from the book and we take them through a whole layer of sort of pragmatic suggestions on how to get that first meeting successful and how to run a good board

Overboarding

“It's really an issue in the VC world … I think a lot of people draw some measure of professional pride out of being on a board and they can tend to get a little carried away and take on too many board assignments.” 

“In our experience doing a startup board well, even in a year where it goes pretty well, it's about a 200-hour-a-year commitment.”

“We do go out of our way to keep them [people with too many board seats] off the board, and one of the reasons we really prefer to lead rounds is because we want to have a hand in building the board and making sure that we're giving our CEO all the resources she or he needs to succeed and putting the right people around our management team.”

Responsibilities of Boards have expanded dramatically

“The basics sort of used to constitute most of what a board did, and now a board has so many other jobs, it's really overwhelming a number of things that we expect boards to do and I think that it not only takes away from some of the time that could be spent on the basics, but it creates a ‘whack a mole’ kind of a mindset in terms of directors.”

Links

 linkedin.com/in/christophermirabile 

Bio

Christopher Mirabile is the Chair Emeritus of the Angel Capital Association and the immediate past Chair of the U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee. He is also the Executive Chair of Launchpad Venture Group, a Boston-based venture investment group focused on seed and early-stage investments in technology-oriented companies. Launchpad is top-three ranked group in the U.S. As a full-time angel investor and an active member of the Boston-area angel investing community, in addition to his Launchpad work, Christopher has personally invested in over 65 start-up companies. He was named one of  the "Top Angel Investors in New England" by Xconomy, one of "Boston's Most Helpful Investors" in an entrepreneur survey by Companyon Ventures and is the recipient of the Angel Capital Association's Hans Severiens Award for his contribution to the advancement of angel investing. Christopher has co-authored six books on early stage investing, been a columnist on entrepreneurship for Inc. Magazine, is a co-founder of portfolio management tool www.seraf-investor.com and co-author of the Seraf Compass, a comprehensive web catalog of educational materials about early stage investing, an adjunct lecturer in the MBA program at Babson's Olin School of Business, a regular advisor and mentor to start-ups, and a frequent panelist and speaker. He is a member of the Board of Directors or Board of Advisors of numerous start-up companies and non-profits. Christopher has served as a public company CFO and General Counsel with enterprise software provider IONA Technologies PLC, a corporate and securities lawyer with Testa Hurwitz & Thibeault and as a management consultant with Price Waterhouse's Strategic Consulting Group.

In this episode, Rick Williams, a seasoned executive, advisor, board director, prolific writer - - and the author of the new book, Create the Future, shares his journey writing the book and key leadership takeaways.

Rick’s core idea in Create the Future is that leaders create the future by the decisions they make Impactful leaders believe they can create the future, and they change uncertainty into hope and possibility.

Rick discusses the CTF process of making great decisions for companies and individuals including the importance of board dynamics and how to harness the collective wisdom of a diverse group to make impactful decisions.

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

1.    Journey of Writing Create the Future

·      Initial book concept during travels in North Africa while sitting in a café in Casablanca

·      Wrote the book and refined it with the help of a professional editor.

·      It took more time than I expected to choose the right publisher, Amplify, to bring the book to market.

2.    Overview of Create the Future

Create the Future outlines the process and the tools successful leaders use when they must make an important decision - when they must get it right. Rick profiles the Five Step decision making process major consulting firms recommend for making important decisions and brings the tools and techniques to organizations off all sizes.

Create the Future is a guidebook for leaders who want to turn their leadership team into a powerful creative engine for defining the challenge, imagining success, creating realistic options, evaluating execution barriers, and finally choosing the path forward.

3.    The Five-Step Decision-Making Process

“I spent quite a bit of time on how do you as a leadership team - a board of directors for example - how do you actually go about deciding what you're really going to do.”

“This book outlines the five steps that we all either instinctively use, or should be using, when we have an important decision to make.”

·      Define the real opportunity or threat.

·      Identify what success looks like

·      Be creative about the options.

·      Evaluate execution barriers.

·      Make the final decision.

4.    Factors to be Considered in Decision Making

·      How close do the decisions come to achieving the goals you set? 

·      Where are they in the risk profile in terms of acceptable risk to you or unacceptable risk to you?

·      How do they express the values that you may have as a company owner or your board may have.

5.    Examples and Applications

The CTF process makes sure that everybody on the board participates in the conversation, their point of view is heard, and they hear each other talk about it. They hear each other say what they really are trying to accomplish.

“We talk about success, which sounds like a simple idea, but the notion of what are we really trying to achieve is one that often we don't spend enough time on.”

“Value is not created by the ideas we come up with - value is created through execution on the decisions we make.”

“Often we as board members either don't have time or haven't fully thought through what are the values that we bring to the decisions we make, what are our risk preferences, and also what are the values and goals of other people on our board and how do they factor into this?”

In the end, the board will make a decision, and the people who participate in this will say: “You know, I may not fully agree with where we're going to go, but my voice was heard, and I now understand what other people are trying to do and where they're coming from.”

 Joe: If you have the people in the room, whoever they may be board or otherwise, feeling at the end of the process like their voice has been heard, their ideas have been heard, and at least considered - - that alone is success.

Links

Here is the link to CTF’s website: https://rickwilliamsleadership.com/books/ 

Here is the link to the book on Amazon

Rick’s LinkedIn Profile:  www.LinkedIn.com/in/RickWilliams100

Bio Rick Williams is an experienced technology company board of directors’ member and board chair. He has chaired the board of a medical device company and a bank/VC firm. Williams is a company founder and CEO and was a management consultant advising clients in a wide variety of industries.

He is an internationally published thought leader on board of directors as a value accelerator for the company. His new book, Create the Future, is a leadership guidebook for being more creative and making better decisions for your company and yourself when you must get it right.

Rick is past President of the Harvard Business School Association of Boston. He was a management consultant with the global consulting firm Arthur D. Little, Inc. He is a physics graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.   

www.RickWilliamsLeadership.com

With an extensive background in policy, advocacy, and corporate governance, Karen shares insights from her roles at Pfizer, iFIT Health & Fitness, and the NAACP.   She recounts her journey to becoming a board member including her experiences during the IPO process at iFIT, and the challenges and triumphs of leading through turbulent times.

Additionally, Karen reflects on the significance of diversity in board composition and the enduring impact of Brown v. Board of Education on the 70th anniversary of the decision. 

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

1.   First For-Profit Board Experience: iFIT Health & Fitness

Karen recounts her journey leading to joining the board of iFIT Health & Fitness, her first for profit board seat, emphasizing the importance of networking and building relationships. She shares how an unexpected opportunity arose from her connections with the Church of Latter-Day Saints and describes the rapid onboarding process and initial experiences as a new board member during a critical time for the company.

"You never know who's watching, it came through a relationship."

Challenges and Decisions During the IPO Process

Karen provides an inside look at the fast-paced environment leading up to iFIT’s planned IPO. She discusses the board’s decision-making process in response to adverse market conditions and the strategic adjustments that were necessary. The conversation highlights the importance of having a diverse and well-composed board to navigate events that are significant & challenging for a company. 

"When you are preparing an S-1, you learn everything about a company very quickly."

"The numbers weren't where they were projected to be at that particular time, and I'm really proud of us because it could have been easy to just buckle down and go forward, but that was not the right thing for the company."

Post-IPO Attempt and Company Turnaround

The discussion moves to the aftermath of the decision to not proceed with the IPO and the strategies employed to stabilize and grow iFIT Health & Fitness.

"What I'm happy to say is that despite the overall industry being at a bit of a downturn, we have come through the worst of it, at least we hope we've navigated through the turmoil and are at a new era."

2.   Work at Pfizer

Karen reflects on her 20-year career at Pfizer, where she transitioned from government work to corporate affairs. She discusses her role as Pfizer’s first Chief Diversity Officer and the development of a global diversity and inclusion strategy.

Leadership During COVID-19

Karen discusses the significant challenges and achievements of Pfizer during the COVID-19 pandemic under the leadership of Albert Bourla. Karen’s insights emphasize the critical role of strong leadership in navigating crises and driving impactful results.

"I believe to my core that no one else could have gotten that company to have that level of impact in such a short period of time [during the Covid outbreak] other than Albert Bourla and the team that he leads."

"Leadership matters"

3.   Role with the NAACP

Karen is the Vice Chair of the NAACP’s National Board of Directors and provides an overview of her role discussing the organization’s mission, structure, and its ongoing important advocacy work. She also reflects on the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision and its lasting impact on education equality. The conversation underscores the importance of historical context in shaping current and future initiatives for civil rights and social justice.

On recognizing the 70th anniversary of Brown v Board of Education in the Oval Office

“It is a moment I will never forget and it's not just about being in the Oval Office with the President, but it was being there with these family members who had made so many sacrifices."

4.     Final Thoughts and Takeaways

The episode concludes with Karen’s reflections on the importance of leadership, diversity, and strategic decision-making in board roles. She shares personal insights from her career journey and offers advice for aspiring board members, emphasizing the value of passion and commitment to the mission of the organizations board members serve.

Jennifer Jukanovich, a seasoned nonprofit leader with nearly three decades of experience discusses her forthcoming book, The Culturally Conscious Board: Setting the Boardroom Table for Impact, which explores the importance of board culture in achieving organizational success. The conversation addresses a number of important aspects of board governance, including board culture and the critical role of trust and humility.

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

1. The Culturally Conscious Board

·      Two important concepts which are emphasized:

o   The significance of board culture and its impact on decision-making and governance, and the role of trust, humility, and hospitality in building an effective board culture.

o   Jennifer’s closing thoughts on the importance of strong board culture in the nonprofit sector.

·      Encouragement for boards to engage in deeper conversations and continuous improvement.

·      Introduction to the "board culture placemat" and its use in facilitating board discussion and b building a strong board culture.

·      Examples of successful practices for building and maintaining a healthy board culture.

"Boards are assets to our society, and our hope is that our book, The Culturally Conscious Board, will contribute to that conversation."  Jennifer Jukanovich

Book Reviews

“Sitting on a board is easy. But being a great board member is another matter entirely, especially if your organization needs change. Jukanovich and West show you how to do it with confidence and grace.”

Arthur C. Brooks, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and #1 New York Times bestselling author

“‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ Drucker said, and most boards don’t explore how their culture either detracts from or advances their mission. This work invites boards to move from habits and traditions that restrict their impact toward deeper examinations to make wise changes and meet the challenges of our day.”   Robert C. Andringa, Managing Partner, The Andringa Group, and coauthor of Nonprofit Board Answer Book

2. Challenges and Opportunities in Board Governance

o   The importance of diverse representation and an inclusive board culture.

o   Practical advice on improving board culture, including transparency, accountability, and feedback mechanisms.

o   Addressing issues such as long-term leadership and the balance between large boards and effective decision-making.

"Humility catalyzes greater trust, whether that is your family or that's a board."  

"Good governance creates health. Good boundaries create healthy culture." 

4. The Critical Partnership between the CEO and the board chair

o   How the board chair can help ensure all voices are heard and foster a culture of openness and respect.

In this episode Michael Talmanson and Dereick Wood discuss the critical importance of D&O coverage for board members. They set the context with a backdrop of Newfront's recent capital infusion led by Goldman Sachs emphasizing the company's innovative approach to combining technology with insurance expertise.

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

1.   Background & industry evolution

·      Michael shares his transition from legal practice to insurance, driven by a passion for technology and client service. He discusses how Newfront's technology platform and AI tools modernize the insurance experience, enhancing client's ability to manage and predict risks.

·      Dereick discusses his extensive experience in handling complex D&O claims, underlining the evolution of claims and the increasing magnitude of derivative settlements.

“The differentiator is the information you can provide boards to make informed decisions about their actual losses.”

2.   Newfront’s Innovation & Impact on the Insurance Market

·      Newfront's strategy of blending high-tech solutions with traditional brokerage services to address the needs of a rapidly changing market. Michael highlights the critical role of experts like Dereick in navigating complex claims, underscoring the blend of technology and human expertise.

·      Discussion on Newfront’s "breakthrough" technology which simplifies processes like contract reviews and risk assessments through AI, setting a new standard in the insurance industry.

 “Since 2020, seven of the top ten largest derivative settlements have occurred, and the people on my team have been involved in all those settlements”

3.   D&O Insights

·      Comprehensive breakdown of D&O insurance coverage (Side A, B, and C) and its importance from a buyer's perspective. Michael and Dereick discuss practical scenarios and the vital protection D&O insurance provides to board members against potential liabilities and lawsuits

·      Dereick provides insights into recent high-profile cases and settlements, demonstrating the critical nature of D&O coverage in protecting board members during legal challenges

·      Strategic recommendations for board members to ensure adequate D&O coverage, emphasizing the importance of understanding policy details and the implications of board decisions on insurance claims

·      Michael and Dereick providing practical advice to board members on avoiding litigation and ensuring robust D&O coverage. They stress the importance of diverse opinions and backgrounds on boards to enhance decision-making and risk management

“No matter what happens from a technology perspective, insurance will always require experts. People like Dereick on the claims side, D&O experts, cyber experts.  People will never be replaced by technology."

Michael Greeley has extensive experience in venture capital and significant board experience across a multitude of investment boards. In this episode, he shares his experience and lessons learned, emphasizing the evolving nature of board governance, the strategic importance of independent directors and the future of healthcare.

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

1.     Evolution of Board Composition of investor-backed boards

• Changes in the composition of investor-backed boards over the past 25 years, emphasize the need for a broader range of competencies beyond financial performance. The trend is to include diverse perspectives to help mitigate boardroom “groupthink.”

"Boards today are very deliberately trying to have the right competencies... Today the pressure on boards is to have a much wider range of expertise; cybersecurity, sensitivity around DE&I issues, and we're seeing that reflected in our term sheets.

2.     Challenges in Board Compliance

• Discussion on the difficulties boards face in complaining with term sheets guidelines, particularly around independent directors and diversity.

"We did an audit... and said, 'How many of our companies actually have complied with that (term sheet requirement)?' And we were surprised, it was probably maybe half or two thirds… and frankly, if I could be just brutally honest, I think there's a little bit of an apathy to address deficiencies of boards."

3.     Importance of Independent Directors

• The role of independent directors in providing an unbiased 'voice of the customer' to help guide company strategy and product market fit.

"The power of that [independent director] is a little bit sector specific but I think it cuts across all sectors, the principal risk we take as healthcare tech investors is around product market fit, and independent directors are the voice of the customers."

1. Governance and Board Dynamics
   • Michael's advocacy for more effective boards and the potential pitfalls of having too many observers or management members “in the room.”

"I'm a traditionalist in the sense that the board should not be stacked with management because it is meant to be the body that opines on the strengths and shortcomings."

1. Future of Healthcare
   • Michael's optimistic outlook on the 'golden age of healthcare' driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes, and innovative business models.

"Arguably, the golden age of healthcare is upon us as the sector embraces novel and impactful solutions to improve outcomes and lower the cost of care."

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Episode Description

Nav Singh has held leadership roles at McKinsey's Boston office, including Managing Partner for Boston and Leader of the Global Innovation Practice. After retiring from McKinsey in 2023, he launched a new entrepreneurial venture, called 2123iX.                                 

In this episode Nav’s shares valuable insights on effective board practices, the importance of innovation and technology in governance, and the critical role of diversity in fostering successful organizational leadership. The episode emphasizes the importance of proactive, informed, and collaborative board engagement to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the next century.

Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes

1.    2123iX - A Century of Innovation

The name 2123iX originates from Nav's retirement year (2023) and his vision to impact the next 100 years. Its focus is on creating a culture and mindset for longevity and innovation and emphasizes patience and quality in building companies that will make a significant difference.

"2123 stands for a 100 years, “I” stands for innovation, “X” stands for scale. The most important thing is: we're in no rush. We want to build high-quality companies over time, we'll be purposeful and take our time doing it."

2. Board Preparation Insights from McKinsey:

·       Importance of thorough and honest preparation for board presentations

·       Engaging discussions over presentations to drive meaningful decisions.

"In my mind, a good board discussion preparation requires an honest view of what are the risks, what could go wrong, what are the main issues we're trying to solve...It is that holistic view that in my mind makes a good board presentation and results in a good board discussion."

3. Characteristics of High-Performing Boards:

·       The balance between healthy tension and collaboration between boards and management.

·       The critical role of the board chair in setting a positive, inclusive culture.

·       The necessity of continuous learning and adaptability among board members.

“Discussion is much more important than presentation.  Sometimes people become enamored by our presentation and the materials. But its the discussion that you drive, the decisions that you drive that matters the most."

"The most important thing is one should be on the same page. People should be on the same team.  People should be working towards the same goals… and there should be some healthy tension, that's good in my mind."

4. Diversity in Board Composition:

·       The impact of diverse perspectives on board strength and decision-making is enormous. Beyond gender and race, diversity includes age, skills, and the ability to learn is critical.

"Diversity is multifaceted and one needs to think about this in a holistic way...The most important thing in my mind is a learning ability."

5. Risk Identification and Management

·       Boards must think beyond the obvious and prepare for future risks. This weighs in favor of a dedicated risk committee to focus on emerging threats.

“I think risk is where most boards should earn their living...Defense means, in this case, thinking about what could go wrong...It is not just the identification of risk, what is the abatement plan, who is going to work on that, how do we address it?"

6. AI and Technology on Boards

·       The transformative potential of AI and technology on businesses and governance is almost beyond out imagination. It underscores the importance of having board members with technology expertise and a willingness to stay informed.

7. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce - A Model for Diversity

·       In the past few years the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce board of directors has made a successful effort to significantly increase diversity in gender and race on the board, and to broaden diversity in skills, age, and industry representation. 

Angela Jackson is the founder of Future Forward Strategies, an award winning social entrepreneur, a global C-suite executive and an experienced board member. In this episode Angela discusses joining the board of Needham bank, a mutual bank that took itself public in December 2023, as well as her research – and her vison – of the future of work.

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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes:

1.     Needham Bank Board of Directors and the decision to take the Bank public

Angela discusses some of the reasons that she was interested in joining the Needham Bank Board of Directors. 

“The CEO, Joe Campanelli, is really a visionary leader with the strategy to support” 

“As a board, when we talked about the reason for going public, this is right after Silicon Valley Bank had folded and we had the banking crisis, and…a lot of banks had put a lot of restrictions on their lending. We all felt – led by Joe, that if we were to IPO at this time, we would actually have more cash to put on the street  to invest in local entrepreneurs and business leaders.”

Another reason to go public was around the values behind that. “They [management] wanted to do the IPO so they could invest in an employee stock ownership program, and for me and my work around the future of work, I deeply believe in companies and CEOs who are really seeing their employees as shareholders and the fact that we wanted to use the funds and to ensure that everyone from the frontlines to the C-suite could be an owner in a bank was significant.”

“…we looked at building a foundation that we could invest in local communities. For over a century, we had a history as a mutual  community bank, and so we wanted to continue that.  The vision is still how can we be national, but also hyper-local at the same time.”

We [the board] were completely aligned with how we wanted to use the money. It was values based to really invest in the community, who we're investing in, the talent and people, and then making sure that we were just being a good neighbor.

“… one more piece that struck me when I saw the board listing for Needham Bank…they were looking for someone with HR and human capital experience. If you look at most board listings, that is very rare. Most boards are looking for someone who's been a sitting CEO or a CFO, maybe someone in technology. You rarely see a listing for a human resource person.”

2.     Ringing the Closing bell at NASDAQ

“It was an exciting moment for all of us.”

“We're based here outside Boston in Needham and we're going to go to New York for the NASDAQ…We thought, how are we going to get everyone from the bank to New York, and so they came up with the idea that we're going to take these coach buses from Needham Bank, and it would travel to New York.

“Now, you would think any bank CEO who's deciding to do this, maybe they would fly in, and they would be there to meet everyone. Actually, Joe Campanelli jumped on the bus with everyone else, shoulder to shoulder, to make that five-hour plus journey to New York and to take it back to be there.”

“The enthusiasm, the camaraderie, it was really the feeling of what had happened, that we did this, from the front lines to the C-suite, it was because of the effort of the people in the bank that were all customer facing, some that are internal, that made this moment happen, it was amazing.”

3.     Board Practices

“One thing that I appreciated as I started out [as a new board member] is that we have full access to management, and we're encouraged to have a relationships with them.. If we have a question, we are comfortable going to them. And I think that transparency and access is key to really understanding what's happening and how we can best advise as a board.”

4.     Decision making on the Needham Bank board

I've been impressed that even during the time of the IPO when we were moving quickly,  the board was willing to go slow, to go fast, so sometimes you needed to just pause for a beat, send some things back to committee, call some of our advisors to make sure we were making the best decision. “Even though we wanted to be expedient about it was just great that we had the willingness to do that…it highlights the organization's approach to leveraging existing financial aid programs for greater effect.”

5.     Board Culture

“Board culture starts with…deep trust and respect….for each other.”

I’ve never talked to a [Needham Bank} board member or staff member who had any doubts about [going public, and I think that's a reflection of the open & honest discussion that led to the decision.

6.     Future of Work

“When I think about the future of work and really the future of boards, a lot of the issues that we're grappling with in the workplace today have a human capital component to them.”

“The future of work is how is…how do we ensure that the people that we're working with can be there, can show up and be their best selves that's going to lead to the business outcomes that we want.”

Links

The SEC wants to know if your corporate employer is investing in you. Fortune.: https://fortune.com/2021/11/23/sec-human-capital-great-resignation-employee-retention-reporting/

Future Forward Strategies: https://www.futureforwardstrategies.com

Bio

www.drangelajackson.com

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