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Directorship Magazine / Are Boards Living Up to the Promises Made to Stakeholders?

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Are Boards Living Up to the Promises Made to Stakeholders?

By Melissa Fors Shackelford

03/24/2026

Crisis Management Risk Oversight Member-Only
Key Points
  • Boards should treat reputational oversight as a core governance imperative rather than a delegated marketing function, as trust is an enterprise asset that directly affects long-term shareholder value.
  • Organizational trust is sustained through the continuous alignment of a company's stated values, its internal conduct, and the brand experience delivered to stakeholders.
  • To proactively manage risk, directors should monitor leading indicators, such as employee sentiment, customer complaints, and online trends, to identify and address early warning signs before they escalate into public crises.

This AI-generated summary, based on content on this page, was reviewed by NACD editors for accuracy.

When anyone with a smartphone can expose a broken promise in seconds, directors should identify early warning signs before they become a permanent reputational crisis.

For more than 20 years, I led Fortune 50 and national nonprofit companies and helped build corporate reputations. Serving on boards has changed how I think about reputation, and I now clearly see why trust is a governance imperative.

Historically, boards have relegated reputational oversight to marketing and communications departments. That model no longer works in a business environment marked by instant virality. Reputational issues can erode shareholder value in a matter of minutes, making it the board's responsibility to oversee it. ...

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Melissa Fors Shackelford

 

Melissa Fors Shackelford is a director and former Fortune 50 executive who advises organizations on brand strategy, reputation oversight, and stakeholder trust. With more than two decades of leadership experience across health-care and nonprofit sectors, she helps align culture, incentives, and strategy to protect and grow enterprise value.

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