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On Boards Podcast

Written by: Joe Ayoub & Raza Shaikh
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  • Summary

  • A company’s Board of Directors or Advisors often has a pivotal role in the success or failure of a business, whether a company or organization lives or dies - - and whether the people who have invested time, money and emotional capital will succeed. On Boards Podcast: A Deep Dive at Driving Business Success, is about everything related to Boards of Directors and Boards of Advisors. Twice a month, in 30 minutes, hear and learn about all aspects of boards and business governance. 
In each episode co-hosts Raza Shaikh and Joe Ayoub interview a guest who has experience with boards - as a board member, a CEO, an investor or an advisor, among other roles, for a conversation on a wide range of topics including: What makes great boards great? What makes a board unsuccessful? How to be a good board member? How to make your board one of the most valuable assets of your company. They discuss public, private, non-profit and start-ups (which they believe is its own category) boards - the work they do, the impact they have and their potential to be profoundly impactful on the organization they serve. On Boards Podcast is for anyone who is a board member, would like serve on a board, is an owner of a business, a member of a non-profit organization, an investor in a business or is interested in Board of Directors or Boards of Advisors or business governance.
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Episodes
  • 67. Michael Greeley on the trends in composition of boards in investor backed companies

    67. Michael Greeley on the trends in composition of boards in investor backed companies
    Apr 15 2024

    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.

    We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here.

    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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    29 mins
  • 66. Nav Singh on the future of Governance and Innovation

    66. Nav Singh on the future of Governance and Innovation
    Apr 1 2024
    We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. 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.
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    37 mins
  • 65. Dr. Angela Jackson on the Needham Bank Board and the Future of Work

    65. Dr. Angela Jackson on the Needham Bank Board and the Future of Work
    Mar 16 2024
    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. We love our listeners! Drop us a line or give us guest suggestions here. 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 ...
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    33 mins
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Management & Leadership Economics
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