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Inside the Board–CEO Dynamic:

Trust, Alignment, and 2026 Governance Priorities

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January 28, 2026 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM PST San Francisco, CA

Home / NACD Northern California Chapter / Northern California Events / Inside the Board–CEO Dynamic: Trust, Alignment, and 2026 Governance Priorities
Northern California Events / Inside the Board–CEO Dynamic: Trust, Alignment, and 2026 Governance Priorities
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NACD Northern California
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Lisa Spivey, 
Executive Director

Kate Azima, 
Director of Partnerships & Marketing
programs@northerncalifornia.nacdonline.org

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About The Event

Member Price: Complimentary

Non Member Price: Complimentary

Credits: 2 NACD Credits

As we begin 2026 and mark the Lunar New Year, join NACD Northern California’s kickoff program featuring seasoned CEOs and directors Maggie Wilderotter, and Deb Liu. Together, they will examine one of the most decisive drivers of organizational performance: the board–CEO relationship. Having served on both sides of the table, they will share practical insights on what makes this partnership effective, resilient, and strategically valuable. The discussion will draw on the 2025 NACD Blue Ribbon Commission’s guidance on the board–CEO relationship, on which Maggie Wilderotter served as a commissioner.

Directors today face faster decision cycles, heightened expectations, and increased scrutiny. In this environment, the board–CEO relationship is not a soft variable; it is a core governance capability. This session will offer clear, actionable guidance on strengthening trust, alignment, and oversight in the year ahead.

Learning Outcomes

  • How trust, transparency, and role clarity shape the board–CEO partnership
  • How to strengthen communication, alignment, and meaningful board engagement
  • The board leader’s role in cohesion, expectations, and accountability
  • How high-trust dynamics elevate strategic discussions and decision-making

Agenda

  • 4–5 p.m.—Arrival, drinks, and light appetizers
  • 5–6 p.m.—Fireside chat with Wilderotter and Liu
  • 6–7 p.m.—Networking with drinks and heavy appetizers

Location

PwC Offices

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Speakers

Board Member, Intuit

Deb Liu

Deb Liu was most recently the president and CEO of Ancestry. During her 20 years in the tech industry, she was named one of Entrepreneur magazine’s 100 Women of Influence, Business Insider’s most powerful female engineers, and PaymentsSource’s most influential women in payments. She was previously a senior executive at Meta (previously Facebook), where she created and led Facebook Marketplace…

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Director, Costco Wholesale Corp., Docusign, SANA Biotechnology, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Tanium

Maggie Wilderotter

Maggie Wilderotter is a seasoned executive who, as CEO, has led both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in her career. In addition, she has extensive board leadership, having served on over 35 public company and 14 private company boards of directors…

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MODERATOR

DBL Partners; Airspace, Fiber Global, Mapbox, NREL, R-Zero, Terram, Tesla, VCNetwork, World Energy Innovation Forum

Ira Ehrenpreis

Ira Ehrenpreis is founder and managing partner of DBL Partners. He serves as president of the Western Association of Venture Capitalists (WAVC) and as the chair of the VCNetwork, the largest and most active California venture capital organization...

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This event is part of NACD Northern California's Asian Cohort—all directors are welcome to attend.

 

Thank you to our partners.

Egon Zehnder Foley and Lardner LLP
NACD Northern California
Contact Us

Lisa Spivey, 
Executive Director

Kate Azima, 
Director of Partnerships & Marketing
programs@northerncalifornia.nacdonline.org

Find a Chapter

By registering for an NACD or NACD Chapter Network event, you agree to the following Code of Conduct.

NACD and the NACD Chapter Network organizations (NACD) are non-partisan, nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing directors with the opportunity to discuss timely governance oversight practices. The views of the speakers and audience are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NACD.