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Krispy Kreme is in the midst of a quiet reinvention. With a presence in more than 40 countries, the nearly 90-year-old brand has modernized its business model and embraced new technology, all while striving to maintain the warm, nostalgic glow that has always characterized its donut boxes. Sitting at the center of that transformation is Marissa Andrada, an independent director on Krispy Kreme's board of directors and chair of the compensation and nomination committee. Andrada, Chipotle's first chief human resources officer and a veteran human resources and culture executive who held senior human resources roles at Starbucks, Universal Studios, Kate…

There is nothing more exciting than earning a profit while making a positive difference in the world. Hetu Patel is the CFO of a mission-driven company that does exactly that: Thrive Market. He joins Jack McCullough to share how the membership-based online platform for healthy food balances purpose and profitability to commit to their long-term goal of making sustainable living more accessible and affordable for everyone. Patel also shares what his 12-year tenure at Amazon taught him about fostering fungible talents, making bold bets and continuously improving decision-making. Listen by clicking below. The Q&A, lightly trimmed and edited for clarity,…

After a volatile start to the year with double-digit declines in CFO confidence in the first quarter, CFO confidence stabilized in the second quarter and is trending cautiously upward. CFO Leadership's Q2 CFO Confidence Index is based on a survey of 126 finance executives conducted April 22-26 and shows that sentiment about current business conditions is roughly flat (-2%) sequentially, while expectations for the year are up by a similar amount (+2%). CFOs rate the current business situation at 5.5 out of 10 (on a scale of 1 being 'poor' and 10 being 'excellent') and expect the situation to improve…

Kieran Read is more than just a former All Black player. he is one of the greats. Over a decade, he won 127 Test caps, captained New Zealand's All Blacks team 52 times, won the Rugby World Cup twice (2011 and 2015), and was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2013. But what struck me most about our conversation wasn't his resume, but the way he talked about leadership. I felt calm. Grounded. There is no theater. What I consistently heard was the idea that elite performance is built long before the spotlight shines on you. As Kieran…

The Lululemon Solution: Vision and Innovation vs. Product Expansion and Marketing – Corporate Director Skip to content Can mission, vision, and innovation create more value for a company than replicating marketing, cost-cutting, and financial strategies that have proven effective in the past? The current public dispute between Lululemon founder and majority shareholder Chip Wilson and the Lululemon Board of Directors raises an interesting question that board members in all industries may want to consider: Can mission, vision, and innovation create more value for a company than replicating marketing, cost-cutting, and financial strategies that have proven effective in the…

It can be tempting for companies to overinvest to scale quickly, but that enthusiasm can come back and hurt. says John Michael Reese, president and director of General Atlantic, a New York City-based private equity firm focused on investing in health care. Reese will share how healthcare companies in particular can scale more responsibly while avoiding common pitfalls. Prior to joining General Atlantic in 2017, Reese was an associate at GTCR in Chicago, where he focused on investments in the healthcare sector. He began his career as an analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.…

Imagine your most productive financial analysts not sleeping, processing millions of trades in seconds, flagging risks before they materialize, and instantly telling you what the numbers actually mean for your business. It is not science fiction and is increasingly becoming a reality in today's financial functions. Having spent my career in finance and accounting, I have seen this change unfold firsthand. Organizations often focus on implementing AI tools, but the real transformation doesn't lie within the technology. It's in Redefine what it means to be a great financial professional. The companies that get this right aren't the first to automate.…

Audit committee responsibilities have become significantly more complex as companies face increasingly sophisticated risks, particularly those stemming from technology-driven and cybersecurity needs. To remain effective and efficient in this evolving environment, audit committees must continually adapt. Audit committee meetings are no exception. Audit committee meetings now address more important issues than ever before, despite a compressed schedule. of 2025 Audit Committee Practice Report (ACPR), a joint publication of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and Deloitte's Center for Board Effectiveness, asked audit committee directors about their current committee priorities, challenges, and opportunities. To dig deeper into respondents' strategies for increasing…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a future consideration for corporate boards. Artificial intelligence (AI) already exists and is advancing rapidly. Companies across industries are actively experimenting with and deploying advanced AI systems, from customer-facing applications like support and sales automation to back-office functions like predictions, fraud detection, and process automation for routine rules-based processes. The pace and breadth of this development is important. According to CAQ research, 90% of S&P 500 companies will mention AI in their 10-K in 2024, up from 25% in 2023. As the benefits and risks of AI impact the entire enterprise, issues of AI oversight…

Every company has a strategy. Every company has data. But some ideas spread like wildfire, and just as good ideas die out quietly. Some leaders command the room, while others lose the room in the first 30 seconds. Some products develop a devoted following, while others, despite all the reasonable advantages, never catch on. Adam Leipzig spent 40 years figuring out why. He had to: it was his job. As a senior executive at Walt Disney Studios, he directed films such as: dead poets association and Honey, I made the kids shrink. As president of National Geographic Films, he march…