Archive | Board of Director

How Not to Fire a CEO: Sam Altman, November 2023

When OpenAI’s Board suddenly fired its CEO Sam Altman in November 2023, it sparked a lot of discussion in the places that track AI as well as in the places that track Board activity. One of the most interesting and useful is this graphic, “How Not To Fire a CEO: Open AI Boards’ missteps in […]

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Remember that [Board] interviews are peer-to-peer

Athena Alliance Newsletter 2/9/2023 Try to relax as much as possible. By the time you are interviewing, the board already knows you have the hard skills required. You do not need to prove how much you know; more interesting is how fast you can learn. What is your sense of inquiry? Do you want to […]

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Yellow Brick Path establishes new advisory board

Yellow Brick Path is pleased to announce the three inaugural members of its new Advisory Board. Joining the Board are Patricia Q. Connolly, Richard D. Daniels, and Kenneth R. Lay. Each is a previous Yellow Brick Path client, has had an extensive career in senior leadership roles in well-known organizations, currently serve on for-profit and/or […]

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It’s still who you know! Networking for Board Candidates Circa 2021 – 2022

A recent study, published for subscribers of The Review of Financial Studies, July 2021 and redistributedin summary form in a posting of Transformative Governance Insights, February 2022 by the GuptaGovernance Institute at Drexel University, concludes that director appointments are (still) heavily drivenby “who you know”. What is new from this study is its conclusion that […]

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The Ultimate Board Candidate Test

I was going through some papers recently and found this description jotted on a piece of notepaper. Illustrate strategic inquiry and the ability to collaborate at an advisory level as an overarching steward of the business My recollection is that this comment was originally focused on Board candidate interviews. However, Ithink it can provide broader […]

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Board Registries and Marketplaces

While the support for adding women and minorities to Boards began in earnest a decade or two ago,there has been a significant ramp-up in the past few years – both in the maturity and sophistication ofexisting programs and an increase in new entrants. There are now numerous private, associationsponsored, and university-based programs to educate, support, […]

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Wellesley Panel 2021

I recently participated on a panel for prospective Board Director members sponsored by the Wellesley Business Leadership Council. In preparation for this event, I selected three key points that I wanted to cover during my segment, which are provided below. Why do board director candidates have both a board bio and a board resume?  How […]

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Public Company Boards

Within public companies, boards are likely to need reorganization and in some cases changes in directors and executive leadership expertise. Boards will be tasked with a greater level of “independence” among its Directors.

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Answering why a board wants you

Ultimately, Board candidates must be able to communicate their potential contributions as a member of a collaborative team in the context governance, strategy, policy, organizational leadership selection and oversight and risk management.

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Showcasing Board Experience in a Bio or Resume

My foray into working with board members was with board candidates, often individuals looking to join their first board. As my client base in this area has expanded, the need to present the work that a board member has done while serving on a board has increased. The solution, it turns out, is straightforward. Treat […]

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