CEO Ready: The Architecture of Public Company Leadership 

March 24, 2026 | Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University

In an era defined by the “pressure cooker” of the modern C-Suite and shrinking CEO tenure, the partnership between the board and the chief executive has moved from a governance necessity to a strategic differentiator.

Building on the 2025 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) Report, Building a High-Trust Board-CEO Relationship, this session pivoted to the human capital and structural design required to execute it. Attendees joined NACD Nashville and the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence for a landmark afternoon bridging the BRC’s insights with the actionable frameworks of the book CEO Ready: What You Need to Know to Earn the Job—and Keep the Job.

We were joined by legendary executive coach and Nashville resident Marshall Goldsmith, alongside CEO Ready authors Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin, to unpack how boards can move beyond theory to build a governance architecture that supports long-term value creation.

Key discussion points:

• Boardroom Architecture & Effectiveness: Moving beyond the initial selection, we will explore the functionality required to sustain a high-performing CEO-board partnership. How do boards design their culture to support the CEO while maintaining rigorous oversight?
• Succession & Transition Governance: Leveraging Goldsmith’s insights and the CEO Ready research, we will examine how to identify true “readiness” in leaders and manage the critical transition phase to ensure continuity rather than disruption.
• The Trust Imperative: Applying the 2025 BRC findings to operationalize trust as a disciplined operating system, we will focus on why trust is essential to transforming the board into a strategic asset that enhances CEO performance.

Book Signing

Following the program, we hosted a book signing with program speakers and CEO Ready coauthors Byron Loflin and Mark Thompson.

Featured Speakers

• Dr. Marshall Goldsmith: Special Guest. Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author
• Byron Loflin: Nasdaq Global Head of Board Advisory, Co-Head of the Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence, and Co-Author, CEO Ready: What You Need to Know to Earn the Job--and Keep the Job
• Mark Thompson: World’s #1 CEO Coach and New York Times Bestselling Author, CEO Ready: What You Need to Know to Earn the Job—and Keep the Job
• Sheila Bangalore (Moderator): CEO, Artemis Endeavors; Independent Board Member, Alliance Entertainment, Principal Mineral Company, StoneAge Holdings