2020-2021 NACD Trends and Priorities of the American Boardroom

The 2020-2021 NACD Trends and Priorities of the American Boardroom report provides an overview of the issues and trends that directors deem most likely to impact their boards in the coming year.

It investigates whether directors feel that their boards allocated agenda time effectively in 2020, and highlights where they seek to improve their performance in the coming year.

This publication offers insights and recommendations that can help you to elevate your board performance:

• Stay up to date on the key trends shaping governance in a post-pandemic world.

• Find the key trends that peers in your industry believe are most likely to affect their businesses.

• Uncover efficiencies by investigating how other independent directors allocate time to their various governance duties

The focus on the board’s compensation committee has never been sharper. The components of compensation plans and the link between compensation and company performance are under intense scrutiny from shareholders, employees, policymakers, the media, and other stakeholders. The Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on the Compensation Committee revisits NACD’s 2003 Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Executive Compensation to highlight the new environment in which compensation committees—and, more broadly, boards—are now operating. It recommends that the compensation committee and board work together to establish an executive compensation philosophy that supports the company in creating long-term, sustainable value.

The report includes ten specific recommendations for compensation committees to consider when evaluating their compensation philosophies. It also provides practical tools, such as sample compensation committee charters, a compensation committee assessment, and guidance on executive employment contracts.