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Hear Peter R. Gleason, NACD president and CEO, reflect on the 2025 class of Directorship 100TM honorees and how NACD builds boardroom bench strength.
It’s that time of year: the NACD Directorship 100 awards season. In this long-standing tradition, the Directorship 100 honors the board members and professionals making a difference in corporate governance.
Every year, I look forward to seeing old friends at this prestigious gala held in New York City. This year, in reviewing the award nominees, I was humbled to realize that while I know many of these individuals personally, many are also new to me.
Similarly, when I attended the 2025 NACD Directors SummitTM in October, where more than 1,750 individuals gathered, I saw more new faces than ever. These attendees—many of them participating in an NACD event for the first time—are a testament to how NACD is preparing the boardrooms of the future.
If there is a single phrase that captures the NACD mission, it is “preparation.” Preparing directors for future opportunities and challenges animates all we do.
When the financial crisis hit and Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010, NACD members were prepared to deal with the impact. For years before and after this upheaval, we convened directors through our Blue Ribbon Commissions to share and summarize best practices, including how to deal with risk and crises as independent, well-informed boards. NACD reflects on the landmark law and its 15-year anniversary in this issue’s Regulatory Review column.
The heightened standards for directors and boards under Dodd-Frank led, in part, to the development of the NACD Directorship Certification® program, as well as an expansion of our educational events, to prepare directors for board service.
I invite all of you to join us at future NACD gatherings, including Directors Summits, where preparation meets opportunity. ■
Peter R. Gleason
President and CEO of NACD
This article is from the winter 2026 issue of Directorship.
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