Episode Archives

22. Matt Blumberg on building and leading a world class board for a startup company

Leading a world class board is the single most important thing startup CEOs can do to help their businesses thrive and become industry leaders. Matt Blumberg is the author of Startup CEO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Business, and Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Up Your Company’s Critical Teams, coming out…

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21. Cathy Minehan on ESG: it’s about managing risk and long-term success – and it’s here to stay!

Cathy Minehan has been an active for profit and not for profit board member of a variety of entities over many and worked for 39 years with the Federal Reserve System, including as the President and Chief Executive of the Boston Bank Chapter.  In this episode she talks about the momentum of ESG (Environmental, Social…

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20. Bob Sherman on what boards should expect from the new Biden administration

Bob Sherman has served as the United States Ambassador to Portugal, is a shareholder at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig and serves on the board of Novo Banco, a US PE-backed bank based in Portugal. In this episode he shares his journey in the Obama campaign and then the Biden campaign and through that…

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19. Paul Ayoub on board leadership, board composition – and the fundamental importance of board diversity

Paul Ayoub has served as the chair of several boards, including two significant nonprofit organizations, and is currently Vice-Chair of the board of one of one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the country, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In this episode he shares his views on board composition, the relationship between the board chair and…

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18. Didier Cossin on why governance is the key driver of organizational performance

Didier Cossin is the founder and director of IMD Global Board Center based in Switzerland, where he works with owners, boards, and senior leaders to maximize organizational performance using strategy, best-in-class decision-making and enhancing board culture and governance best practices. In this episode he talks about creating a high performance board thru enhancing board culture,…

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17. James Lam on the new world of risk management and oversight for companies and boards

James Lam is a globally recognized risk expert, an early advocate of Enterprise Risk Management and the first-ever Chief Risk Officer.  He has served as a director and chair of the risk oversight and audit committees of both publicly and private companies. James was a commissioner for the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on board oversight…

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16. Mohamad Ali, the CEO of IDG, Inc., on learning to be a good board member and the importance of giving back

Mohamad Ali is the CEO of International Data Group (IDG, Inc.), a private technology media, events and research company. He has also served as CEO of a publicly traded company and has served on many public, private, and nonprofit boards. In this episode, Mohamad shares what he has learned about being a good board member…

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15. Dede Orraca-Cecil on what it takes to build a company board and find great company leadership

Dede Orraca-Cecil is a member of Egon Zehnder, an international executive search and leadership advisory firm, where she leads efforts in almost every aspect of what a company or organization needs in leadership and governance. She talks about identifying company leadership and board building – what it takes and how the conversation has changed. Thanks…

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14. Diane Hessan on what makes an effective board member and an effective board

Diane Hessan is successful entrepreneur, CEO, author and has been highly recognized for the broad range of impactful work she has done.  And she has served on virtually every type of company board and seen the work of the board from many perspectives.  In the fascinating conversation, she shares her insight and opinion on the…

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13. Ed Pendergast: What it takes to be a board member that every company wants

Ed Pendergast has served on numerous boards – public, private, and nonprofits – for more than 40 years. Very few people have had the opportunity to serve on such a broad range of boards over such a long period of time as Ed, and for good reason. He is the consummate board member. Armed with…

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