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Large nonprofit organizations whose missions require ongoing funding to sustain and advance their charitable purpose are, with increasing frequency, establishing for-profit subsidiaries to diversify and bolster revenue streams and the balance sheet.  This practice is taking hold in industries such as healthcare, technology and higher education, as well as other areas of specialization such as research and development, testing and certification, and economic development and entrepreneurship. It can take many forms that blend and balance societal benefit with profitability.  For-profit subsidiaries of nonprofit organizations seeking to recruit, retain and motivate top talent can face unique challenges when it comes to designing effective long-term incentive (LTI) plans. These…

A critical benefit of being a private company is often cited as freedom from quarterly financial reporting and onerous reporting obligations. Without regulatory reporting requirements and public market oversight, private company leaders say they have more freedom to focus on long-term strategy. But new survey data reveals an interesting pattern. Despite that freedom, many private companies have governance approaches that are very similar to publicly traded companies, raising questions about how ownership structure impacts actual strategic planning. A new study conducted by Chief Executive Group Research in partnership with the Long Term Stock Exchange finds that private company leaders value…

One of the compensation committee's primary responsibilities is to set corporate performance goals that form the basis of executive incentive plans for annual and long-term performance. Since executive remuneration is largely variable and linked to company performance, it is fundamentally important to set performance goals that are challenging and motivating, yet achievable. When setting incentive targets, compensation committees typically establish performance expectations and associated payout outcomes. This is called the performance dividend slope, and it's what we'll focus on in this installment of our Executive Compensation Essentials series. The slope is centered around the desired performance goal, with minimum (threshold)…

Recent developments suggest that a new wave of recalibration of how the results of proxy advisory firms are produced, used, and regulated may be underway. Proxy advisors have been under scrutiny for more than a decade, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) publicly expressing concerns about their role in 2013, and attempts to regulate proxy advisors from 2020 to 2022 failed. In 2023, a lawsuit to reinstate the regulations failed, followed by a Texas law attempting to regulate advisors, which is still being litigated. Most recently, a December 2025 executive order directing federal agencies to increase oversight of proxy…

Virginia's true technology appeal is easy to spot. We have the best education system in the nation, one of the highest concentrations of technology talent in the country, and a common-sense business environment that enables and encourages companies to improve and iterate. business traveler The magazine called Virginia “East of Silicon Valley,” alluding to both intellectual (one of the nation's strongest technology talent pipelines) and physical (the world's largest data center market) factors. “Virginia is a world-class hub for technology talent, multi-sector collaboration and innovation,” said Dr. Prem Natarajan, Chief Scientist and Head of Enterprise AI at Capital One Financial…

For many years, succession planning has been on the sidelines of M&A discussions. Although it was recognized as important, it was rarely decisive. Strong EBITDA, margin expansion and financial discipline were assumed to outweigh concerns about leadership continuity. That assumption no longer holds true. In today's M&A market, succession risk has become a central underwriting variable. Trading does not stall just because a company is unprofitable. Companies slow down, reprice, or lose momentum because buyers can't clearly assess how the business will perform or scale after the founder is no longer at the center of day-to-day operations. Succession planning is…

Accenture's latest Pulse of Change survey found that executives across the board are largely optimistic about revenue growth this year, despite a notable gap between the sentiments of CFOs and CEOs. One thing they agree on is that both groups believe AI will be a key driver, regardless of the level of growth. Mukshit Ashraf, group chief executive officer of Accenture Strategy, spoke to CFO Leadership about the firm's survey of 3,650 executives and 3,350 employees around the world. 63% of CFOs expect overall revenue growth to accelerate, compared to 79% of CEOs. What does this tell us about the…

Companies must be ready to change as market trends and customer demands evolve. To avoid losing your momentum and keep your entire team on the right track, maintaining a culture of accountability is a must. David Lee, CFO and COO of Webtoon Entertainment, shares how creating such a workplace environment made them the world’s largest digital comics platform right now. In this conversation with Jack McCullough, Lee explains how to achieve entrepreneurial success in a global company without sacrificing artistic touch and human connection. He also shares how his mentors, his experiences working with different companies and the most important…

If a large portion of a company's customer base becomes involved in some type of protest, board members should monitor what unforeseen risks the public reaction to the protest issue may pose to the company. Following the recent deaths of two American citizens at the hands of federal immigration agents during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, many businesses in the state issued public statements about how the tactics of agents tracking illegal immigrants create a volatile and dangerous environment for local businesses and their communities. As the Department of Homeland Security continues to implement immigration enforcement efforts across the country, boards…

If a large portion of a company's customer base becomes involved in some type of protest, board members should monitor what unforeseen risks the public reaction to the protest issue may pose to the company. Following the recent deaths of two American citizens at the hands of federal immigration agents during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, many businesses in the state issued public statements about how the tactics of agents tracking illegal immigrants create a volatile and dangerous environment for local businesses and their communities. As the Department of Homeland Security continues to implement immigration enforcement efforts across the country, boards…