NACD Lead Director Steering Committee Brief

In the Spring of 2021, NACD, alongside KPMG, brought together lead directors from Fortune 500 companies to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the role of the lead director.¹ As parts of the world are beginning to reopen, and as others continue to struggle with novel variants of the virus, boards are reckoning with what it means to operate in a pandemic-altered world.

Participants discussed fundamental questions such as “How will the board’s operating model evolve to fit the needs of a post-pandemic world?” and “How should we change director evaluations to reflect a need for new and different skills?” While there are no definitive answers to these questions, there is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic will have long-term and far-reaching impacts on the field of corporate governance, and specifically on the position of lead director.