NACD in the News

• Companies Face New Pressures to Diversify Boards. It’s Sensitive.

  One of the biggest board recruiting rushes in U.S. corporate history is set to commence, and it is likely to be a delicate one.

• New Collaboration Will Develop Guidelines to Help Boards Keep Organizations Cyber Safe

  Recognizing the key role boards can play in reducing cyberattacks, the National Association of Corporate Directors, World Economic Forum, and Internet Security Alliance have joined forces to create cyber safety guidance for volunteer leaders.

• When Corporate Boards Need To Send A Goldwater Message

  Corporate board leadership should consider use of the so-called “Goldwater Message” as a serious option to resolve certain types of CEO controversies, in a manner that would be discreet and far less damaging to all concerned. A more traditional termination option might only serve to enflame the circumstances and cause further harm to the company.

• The Challenge of Virtual Meetings

  Are virtual board meetings as effective as in-person board meetings? A full 45% of those responding to a NACD survey being released this morning say, “no.” Only 15% say, “yes.” The remainder sit on the fence.

• When That Problematic Board Member Just Won’t Leave

  Sometimes a corporate director who’s the main source of a company’s reputational problems is the last one to recognize it.

• Workforce Culture Really Is Board’s Responsibility; CLO Has Related Role to Play

  The debates are over, the polls are closed and the decision is clear. The board does indeed have a fiduciary responsibility for oversight of workforce culture; it’s not solely the province of management anymore. And that’s a result which the CLO can comfortably report up the corporate ladder and take an active role as board advisor.

• Biden In The Boardroom: What To Expect On Corporate Governance From The New Administration

  A Biden administration can be expected to have a notable impact on corporate governance, both through specific proposals and by how its policies influence state legislation, “best practices” formulation and board conduct.

• New Education Network Lets Members Earn Certification Credits at Universities

  When the National Association of Corporate Directors created its certification program last year, they wanted it to include the best resources and information for members seeking the designation. To help facilitate this, the organization recently launched the NACD Education Network, which allows individuals to earn credits toward their certification through participation in top-tier university courses.

• How to Identify — and Fix — Pay Inequality at Your Company

  Pay equity has been a hot topic over the last few years, fueled by national social movements, including #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo. California recently passed a law requiring employers to file equal pay reports annually, starting in March 2021. Colorado and a dozen other states have either passed or are considering a variety of pay transparency bills. And there are “no signs of it slowing down,” says Tom McMullen, who leads the global rewards and pay equity practice at Korn Ferry.

• Five Tips for Chief Information Security Officers to Increase Their Strategic Value to the CEO and Board of Directors

  The role of the chief information security officer – or CISO for short – is to understand a corporation’s cyber threat landscape and know where vulnerabilities lie. And given the relentless increase in sophisticated hacking, their clout and importance to the CEO and Board is increasing exponentially. Given COVID-19, as millions of American white-collar workers have moved from the office to their home to work remotely and stay in touch with colleagues solely online, it has been CISOs who have been charged with making sure this eruption of new endpoints isn’t compromising corporate network security.