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Boards are living through a time of unprecedented challenges: IPOs, acquisitions, divestitures, shareholder activists, and CEO changes. At the recent Board of Directors Summit, three distinguished panelists—peter browningPrincipal Director of ScanSource and Director of GMS. patricia russoChairman of HP and Director of GM, Merck, and KKR. and maggie wilderotterChairman of DocuSign and member of the boards of directors of Costco and Sana Biotechnology, shared insights from his decades of board experience.Their panel discussion provided a master class on how boards can provide steady guidance and leadership during times of turmoil. Below are key takeaways for CEOs and boards of directors…

Apple's board of directors, like Costco's, is joining the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), which urges companies to issue reports on the risks of their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs or eliminate them. ) advised investors to reject shareholder proposals. They are completely. Board members at other companies who want to continue their commitment to DEI programs may want to explore how these two companies address anti-DEI shareholder proposals and adapt some of their methods. I don't know.Although shareholder voting on these proposals has not yet been completed, boards of companies that may be targeted by the…

Donald Trump's return to the White House and the end of US election uncertainty increased CFO optimism last fall, according to our CFO Confidence Index. Starting next week, finance chiefs will begin to assess whether their optimism is warranted. Gradual, and sometimes sudden, changes in federal business regulations, economic policy, and the United States' response to strained geopolitical relations could introduce a whole new level of instability.A dramatic possibility Bill Koefoed, CFO of OneStream Software, says change requires CFOs, other executives, and businesses to be adaptable and forward-thinking. But what needs to happen within finance and other functions to enable…

Uncertainty, upheaval, change. None of them are particularly noteworthy in business, but leaders (and the press) seem to mention them quite regularly. Admittedly, successfully navigating turbulence is not easy. It's no wonder, then, that people are always looking for new ways to deal with uncertainty. Nevertheless, for many people, uncertainty (and the constant chatter about it) can be another source of distraction for themselves and their teams. A recent episode was about fighting distractions Radio is a catalyst for growthhosts Pam Harper and Scott Harper spoke with Penny Zenker, a self-proclaimed focus scholar. Before you roll your eyes at the…

Brian Olson was promoted to head of finance early in his career and at the age of 30 was promoted to an international, publicly traded company. He was still green and had to learn some basics about public company finance as he grew up. Later, when he took the CEO position, he “grew as an executive out of necessity,” mostly because he loved his job and wanted to be better at it, he says. . At the time, Mr. Olson was able to succeed with the help of several board leaders and business partners, he said. Executive coaching was less…

When it comes to preventing attacks, “every second counts in the cloud.” That high-speed, high-stakes work is part of what drew Karen Walker to start her career in Silicon Valley, and eventually take on her current role as CFO of cloud security company Sysdig. Walker joins Jack McCullough to share her journey from global childhood experiences to leadership roles at iconic companies such as Uber and Pandora. Together, they explore the evolving role of CFOs, the power of networking and how technology is reshaping financial leadership.Listen by clicking below. The Q&A, lightly trimmed and edited for clarity, follows.—Listen to the…

After 37 years with Northwestern Mutual, including 14 years as Chairman, President, and CEO, I am retiring. I love this organization, everything it stands for, and everything it has accomplished over the past decade and a half for the five million customers we proudly serve. I love you. At Northwestern Mutual, our mission is to help Americans build financial security, and we have lived up to that mission. We've grown our client base by 28% and our team of financial advisors by 26%, enabling organizations to generate “real growth” and truly thrive. The company's revenues have increased from approximately $21…

Many large U.S. companies decide to walk away from commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in 2024, while others recently ignore environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns Despite pressure to do so, the majority of S&P companies, 500, still incorporate ESG and DEI metrics into their executive compensation plans. Company board members approve all executive compensation plans, so the board is willing to use financial incentives to maintain the ethos of ESG and DEI initiatives over the long term without imposing quotas. It will be interesting to see if.McDonald's recently joined the list of major companies that have…

After a proxy season with the lowest say-on-pay failure rate since 2017, compensation committees could be forgiven for being relatively optimistic about the 2025 voting season. However, scrutiny of investor compensation practices remains weak. A closer look at the 2024 proxy season highlights how investors and proxy advisors continue to have high expectations of companies of all industries and sizes when it comes to paid program design and decision-making. .Research into the outcomes of companies that have struggled to receive Say on Pay support this year shows the need for stronger disclosures around remuneration, particularly in scenarios where investors could…

Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based Linback Holdings, a company that maintains and revitalizes HVAC, electrical and plumbing infrastructure in buildings, has seen its stock price double in the past year. A series of small acquisitions funded by operating cash flow helped, but so did a very clear approach to financial management.Leading this approach is Limbach CFO Jayme Brooks, a certified public accountant who joined the more than 120-year-old firm in 2019 after 14 years at Capstone Turbine. At Linback, Brooks strengthened the company's balance sheet, positioned it as a competitive advantage, and played a key role in converting newly acquired companies to Linback's…