It’s the question that strikes to the heart of the corporate governance discussion: How did so many smart people – on boards and in senior management – fail to foresee the circumstances that led to the economic meltdown and take more vigorous steps, well in advance, to protect company and shareholder value? While many boards have made significant strides in improving their corporate governance structures, these structures depend on a working dynamic of transparency and trust to be fully effective. What are the mutual responsibilities of the board and management to fully understand the business, accurately read the signals, and take strong action when the environment begins to change? What is the evolving role of talent management, executive compensation, succession planning and leadership development in the board-management dialogue?

The Business Issue: Today’s board members are asking for significantly more information from management as they are held increasingly more responsible by shareholders and the public. This affects the kinds of information required by the board, how it is reported, how corporate leadership is evaluated and compensated, and how succession planning is managed.  Learn how increased board/management interaction can be leveraged most effectively to reduce risk and improve long-term performance.

Audience: This Knowledge Series is aimed at a cross functional audience of executives concerned with management/board interactions, including senior functional executives, HR, Talent Management and Leadership Development Executives

Series Host

Jean McNulty Program Director, The Conference Board Councils on Leadership Development, Talent Management and Corporate Learning The Conference Board For the past 20 years, Jean McNulty has played a leading role in The Conference Board's councils, conferences and research, particularly in the Learning, Leadership Development and Talent Management areas. In addition, Jean's been a key resource f... Full Bio

Corporate Governance and the New Focus on Leadership (Part 1)

PART 1: Corporate Governance Best Practices for Talent Management

01 October, 2009 | (01 hr)

The economy, government regulations, increased public scrutiny and shifting marketplace conditions are increasing pressure on boards of directors to assume closer oversight over management performance, succession planning and compensation. Boards are seeking to delve deeper into the business, evaluating the viability of strategies while scrutinizing how well your top talent is prepared to execute in an increasingly uncertain and demanding environment. What data is the Board likely to require and what are the relevant issues around transparency and accountability they will be looking for?

Key Points to be covered:

• Overview of the current corporate governance environment
• Changing board expectations for management.

Speakers

	Gregory L. Summe Vice Chairman of Global Buyout The Carlyle Group Gregory L. Summe is the Vice Chairman of Global Buyout at The Carlyle Group. Before joining Carlyle in October of 2009, he was a Senior Advisor to Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and the Chairman and CEO of PerkinElmer, Inc., a company he led for e... Full Bio
	Nell Minow Editor and Co-Founder The Corporate Library Nell Minow was named one of the 30 most influential investors of 2002 by Smart Money magazine and, in 2003 was dubbed "the queen of good corporate governance" by Business Week online. Prior to co-founding The Corporate Library, Ms. Minow was a Pri... Full Bio

Corporate Governance and the New Focus on Leadership (Part 2)

PART 2: The Power of the Board in Engaging the Organization

15 October, 2009 | (01 hr)

Chief Talent Officers can serve as an important link between the Board on one hand and the company’s pool of present and future leaders on the other. Sometimes Talent Officers provide so much data that the Board feels over stimulated and unfocused. Successful execution of the strategy requires a direct link between your business strategy and your talent management process. How and what you communicate to the Board on talent can result in a clear line of vision for all. In turn, using the power of the board to engage your top talent in their own development can help accomplish your goals of alignment between talent management, succession management and business strategy execution. Discover how Cisco is preparing a pool of successors to the CEO role based on potential future business models.

Key Points to be covered:

• How can the Board and management better align the talent management function and business strategies?
• What are the most effective ways to align leadership development and succession planning with alternative future strategies?

Speakers

Annmarie Neal, Psy.D. Senior Fellow, Human Capital The Conference Board Formerly Chief Talent Officer and V.P. for Cisco Systems, Inc. Annmarie Neal is a Senior Fellow, Human Capital at The Conference Board. In this role, Neal supports the Human Capital Practice which includes The Conference Board Human Capital Exchange™, research, conferences, webcasts and programs in a br... Full Bio

Corporate Governance and the New Focus on Leadership (Part 3)

PART 3: Corporate Governance Best Practices for Talent

29 October, 2009 | (01 hr)

How can companies meet shareholder expectations on issues relating to governance, compensation and CEO succession that are sensitive, complex, proprietary and subject to perceived conflicts of interest? How can CEO succession planning be better integrated with the company’s talent management program? How can executive compensation be better linked with business strategy and performance goals? How can communication with both internal and external audiences on these topics be improved? How can directors work more effectively with the talent management function to fulfill the board’s role of representing shareholder interests?

Key Points to be covered:

• From the shareholders’ perspective, what are best practices for the highly sensitive issues of executive compensation, CEO succession?
• How can transparency and communication around these issues be improved?

Speakers

John C. Wilcox Chairman Sodali, Ltd. John C. Wilcox is chairman of Sodali Ltd, a global consultancy providing companies and boards with services relating to corporate governance, shareholder relations, corporate actions and the capital markets. From 2005 to 2008 he served as senior v... Full Bio