Episodios

  • Oliver Cummings: Unlocking Boardroom Excellence - Insights from Nurole's CEO

    Oliver Cummings: Unlocking Boardroom Excellence - Insights from Nurole's CEO
    Jul 29 2024
    (0:00) Intro.(1:20) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(2:07) Start of interview. (2:58) Oliver's origin story.(7:00) His experience in private equity with PE-backed boards.(9:57) About the mission and focus of Nurole, the UK-based board search firm where he serves as CEO. (12:27) On Nurole's network of 65,000+ board leaders (two parts: free and paid offerings).(20:16) Demystifying the board search process, four key stages:Briefing stageSourcing processAssessment phaseOnboarding (ongoing support)(25:19) From a board candidate perspective.(28:14) On board evaluations.(32:44) Common characteristics of directors in board placements (they place ~1,000 directors per year).(33:50) On board culture and values of directors.(37:00) On specialized directors.(43:16) Differences between UK and US boards.Role of the ChairBoard searchBoard compensationLitigation Risk(48:35) Other board issues to consider: 1) are boards generating value, and 2) revisiting board education.(52:48) About his podcast Enter the Boardroom.(55:15) His favorite episodes: Roger Martin, Baroness Helena Morrissey and Sir Richard Dearlove.(59:20) Books that have greatly influenced his life: The Aeneid, by Virgil (19 BC)Mindset, by Carol Dweck (2006)How Will You Measure Your Life, by Clay Christensen (2012)(01:00:30) His mentors. (01:02:13) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by.(01:03:16) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves: the Eglu chicken coop.(01:04:45) The living person he most admires.Oliver Cummings is the CEO of Nurole, a UK-based board search firm with 65,000+ members globally and about 1,000 board placements per year. He's also the host of the Enter the Boardroom Podcast. You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    1 h y 6 m
  • Thompson Paine (Anthropic): "I Think the Potential of AI Technology is Massive"

    Thompson Paine (Anthropic): "I Think the Potential of AI Technology is Massive"
    Jul 17 2024
    (0:00) Intro.(1:05) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(1:52) Start of interview. (2:28) Thompson's origin story.(3:42) His startup work at Quizlet (joined a 5 person team) and Stripe (from 2k to 8k employees). Joined Anthropic in early 2023.(6:25) On China-US relations, and the course he teaches at Vanderbilt Law School: Emerging Technologies, Law, and U.S.-China Competition.(11:04) On startup incorporations, Delaware, and other thoughts for entrepreneurs. Reference to Stripe Atlas.(14:18) Unveiling the AI investment landscape. Increase in capital and talent in AI technologies. "Companies at the frontier of building LLMs: Anthropic, OpenAI, Alphabet and Meta."(19:15) On the international AI landscape. China wanting to overcome its "century of humiliation."(21:55) Origin story and mission of Anthropic. The eight founders left OpenAI in 2021. Claude 3.5 Sonnet.(26:14) Anthropic's Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) and Long Term Benefit Trust (LTBT) model.(29:24) How to think about AI and its paradigm shift for corporate directors.(31:05) Claude products for consumers and enterprise.(33:36) On the future of work with impact of AI.(35:17) San Francisco's evolving role as a global tech hub.(37:37) Is AI overhyped or underhyped? "The impact of AI will be somewhere between the internet platform shift to the next industrial revolution (...) and if the next internet is kind of the lower bound of the impact AI will have on society and the economy and technology more broadly, then that's a pretty significant impact."(40:05) On the "stay private vs go public" debate.(42:48) More thoughts for directors on AI. Prof Ethan Mollick: "The AI you're using today is the worst AI you will ever use." (43:48) Books that have greatly influenced his life: The Children, by David Halberstam (1998)Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler (2006)All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (1929)(46:42) His mentors. Chris Klein and Dan Crittenbrink (State Department). Chip Blacker (Stanford).(47:53) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by.(48:40) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves: Antique maps and running everyday.(50:28) The living person he most admires.Thompson Paine is the head of business operations at Anthropic, one of the leading AI companies in San Francisco. You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    52 m
  • Natasha Allen: Navigating AI Regulation, Exits, and Boardroom Challenges

    Natasha Allen: Navigating AI Regulation, Exits, and Boardroom Challenges
    Jul 9 2024

    (0:00) Intro

    (1:20) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.

    (2:06) Start of interview.

    (2:37) Natasha's "origin story."

    (6:25) On the risks and opportunities for AI.

    (8:39) On the regulatory landscape of AI in the US. Reference to President Biden's Executive Order.

    (11:40) On California's regulation of AI (SB 1047).

    (15:24) On the international AI regulatory landscape, including the EU AI legislation.

    (20:35) On the state of startups and venture capital in Silicon Valley.

    (25:34) On the 'stay private or go public' debate.

    (28:50) On the increased antitrust scrutiny by the FTC and DOJ, particularly in tech industry.

    (30:08) On the increased national security scrutiny via CFIUS reviews. The new geopolitics of dealmaking.

    (35:46) On the increased politicization of the boardroom, including ESG and DEI.

    (38:32) On boardroom diversity and challenges to SB-826 and AB-979 (California), and Nasdaq's Diversity Rule.

    (42:20) Books that have greatly influenced her life:

    1. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (1960)
    2. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Altwood (1985)
    3. Animal Farm, by George Orwell (1945)

    (42:57) Her mentors.

    (43:49) Quotes that she thinks of often or lives her life by: "Don't Self-Select."

    (51:17) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves.

    (44:17) The living person that she most admires. One of them is Michelle Obama.

    Natasha Allen is a partner at Foley & Lardner in Silicon Valley, serving as Co-Chair for Artificial Intelligence, Co-Chair of the Venture Capital Committee, and a member of the Venture Capital, M&A, and Transactions Practices.

    You can follow Evan on social media at:

    Twitter: @evanepstein

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/

    Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/

    __

    You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:

    Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod

    __

    Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    46 m
  • Tyler Shultz: Theranos Whistleblower on Fraud and Startup Governance in Silicon Valley

    Tyler Shultz: Theranos Whistleblower on Fraud and Startup Governance in Silicon Valley
    Jul 1 2024
    (0:00) Intro(1:06) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(1:53) Start of interview.(2:37) Tyler's "origin story." (4:50) His beginnings at Theranos.(7:07) On the culture of the Theranos, "the company was extremely secretive and paranoid."(9:41) On the lack of equity compensation for Theranos employees.(10:32) On Theranos' board of directors.(16:50) Some of the prominent investors in Theranos, and lack of due diligence.(19:24) On Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani fraud convictions, FOMO, and value of credibility from early backers (e.g. Channing Robertson, Don Lucas, George Shultz, etc).(23:57) How Tyler became a whisteblower at Theranos. His contact with John Carreyrou, at the time a WSJ reporter.(26:57) On his legal challenges (and high fees) as a whistleblower. George Shultz (his grandfather) would tell him: "I'm 90 years old. I ended the Cold War. I fought in a world war. I've seen a lot of things in my life. I've seldom been wrong. And I know what I'm looking at. And I know I'm right about this."(30:24) On the SEC's whisteblower program and his personal experience with this process. *Reference to E130 with Mary Inman (his Whistleblower attorney).(34:58) On the NDA and confidentiality agreements, "fraud is not a trade secret."(37:56) Why Elizabeth Holmes wanted Theranos to remain private and never go public.(39:04) Stanford's problematic connection to frauds. See: "What's the Matter with Stanford?"(42:14) The role of executive and board compensation in startups.(46:20) Book that he recommends reading: Salt in My Soul by Mallory Smith (2019).(48:00) His mentors: George Shultz (his grandfather) and J. Leighton Read.(50:01) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by: "You Get What You Screen For"(51:17) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves.(52:53) The living person that he most admires: Dr Anthony Fauci."I often think back to a famous quote about character, which is, character is what you do when nobody's watching. And I actually think that the opposite is true. I think character is what you do when everyone's watching. And I experienced that."(53:57) His current endeavors.Tyler Shultz is a former Theranos employee who became a key whistleblower, exposing the company's fraudulent practices. As the grandson of former Secretary of State George Shultz, who was on Theranos' board, Tyler's decision to speak out carried significant personal and professional risks. You can find out more about Tyler at his website: https://www.tyler-shultz.com/ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    56 m
  • Ilya Strebulaev: Venture Mindset Takeaways for Board Members.

    Ilya Strebulaev: Venture Mindset Takeaways for Board Members.
    Jun 25 2024
    (0:00) Intro.(1:39) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(2:25) Start of interview. Reference to E21 with Ilya Strebulaev from October 2020.(4:01) On why he wrote his book The Venture Mindset: for decision makers in large organizations.(5:37) About the first principle: Home Runs Matter, Strikeouts Don’t. Make small bets vs fear of failure.(7:23) Two types of innovation: incremental (step by step) vs. disruptive innovation.(13:32) The unique role that independent directors can play in innovation.(18:20) On corporate unicorns and intrapreneurs.(20:11) On errors of omission and building anti-portfolios.(24:01) Promoting the venture mindset for large companies to be more innovative and become more like Silicon Valley.(28:29) Red flags in decision-making ("why should I not invest?"), and the example of Theranos. Examples from Shark Tank.(34:00) On Yuri Milner's investment in Facebook (2009) and investing without taking a board seat (informal controls and indirect influence).(38:30) Formal vs informal control rights in corporate governance.(44:13) Stay private vs go public debate. On "quasi-public" companies.(49:11) On the pressures to go public for VCs and employees, and the evolution of secondary markets.(52:20) On the principle (#5) to Bet on the Jockey (put people above process).(53:22) On the principle (#7) to Double Down or Quit (allow flexibility, and phenomenon of escalation of commitment).Ilya Strebulaev is a Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and is an expert in corporate finance, venture capital and private equity, corporate innovation, innovation ecosystems, and financial decision-making. His recent work has examined the valuation of VC-backed companies, decision making by venture capital and private equity investors, corporate venture capital, and impact of venture capital. You can follow Ilya on social media at:Twitter: @IlyaStrebulaevLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilyavcandpe/Venture Mindset Website: https://thevcmindset.com/ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    58 m
  • Greg LaBlanc: "It's Really Hard to be a Good Board Member"

    Greg LaBlanc: "It's Really Hard to be a Good Board Member"
    Jun 17 2024

    (0:00) Intro.

    (1:19) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.

    (2:05) Start of interview.

    (2:58) Greg's "origin story."

    (5:31) His teaching focus.

    (8:04) Discussion on startups and venture capital and the era of AI. Behavioral finance and bubbles.

    (11:17) Bubbles in private (VC and PE) and public markets.

    (15:12) Staying private vs going public fundamentals.

    (20:05) The role of governance and advice from directors to CEOs.

    (22:43) On growth of private equity.

    (28:00) On the rise and importance of AI. Analogy to electricity. *Reference to Paul David's research.

    (29:31) On Elon Musk's compensation litigation and the recent Tesla stockholder comp ratification.

    (36:13) On the role of directors. "It's really hard to be a good board member." "[Directors] better darn well get comfortable with asking not only tough questions, but dumb questions."

    (40:32) On Texas and Delaware's corporate law competition.

    (42:04) On the politicization of the boardroom (i.e. ESG) and geopolitics involving China.

    (48:11) Books that he recommends reading: The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I by Pollock and Maitland (1895).

    (48:57) His mentors in the area of law.

    (50:47) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by.

    (51:57) An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves.

    (54:16) About his podcast Unsiloed.

    Greg LaBlanc is a Lecturer and Distinguished Teaching Fellow at Berkeley, Stanford, HEC Paris and other prestigious institutions. Greg teaches a wide range of subjects, including finance, strategy, law, innovation, data science, and digital transformation. He is also the host of the podcast Unsiloed.

    You can follow Evan on social media at:

    Twitter: @evanepstein

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/

    Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/

    __

    You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:

    Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod

    __

    Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    56 m
  • Jennifer Dulski: "To Join (Your First) Public Board, Someone Needs to Bet on You"

    Jennifer Dulski: "To Join (Your First) Public Board, Someone Needs to Bet on You"
    Jun 10 2024
    (0:00) Intro.(1:21) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(2:08) Start of interview.(2:41) Jennifer's "origin story." (3:41) Founding a non-profit at the start of her career: Breakthrough Pittsburgh.(4:15) The start of her tech career with Yahoo!(7:12) Her roles post Yahoo!: founding and selling The Dealmap to Google.(9:20) Her transition and tenure as president & COO of Change.org (scaling from 18 million to 200 million users). About her Motivational Pie Chart.(11:07) About Change.org (a social impact campaigning platform) and non-profit and PBC corporate structures.(14:18) Her time at Facebook (now Meta), leading the Facebook Groups product.(16:00) About Rising Team, the company she founded and where she currently serves as CEO.(22:10) On her board journey, and distinctions among different types of companies: non-profits, startups (Little Passports), public companies (Move, TEGNA & WeightWatchers) and VC/PE backed companies. "The truth is to join a public board, somebody needs to take a bet on you if you've never been on a public board."(32:19) On serving in a VC/PE backed company as a lead independent director and comp committee Chair (Arcadia). On board observer roles. Setting board norms.(36:55) On the benefit of boardroom diversity.(39:17) On dealing with the politicization of the boardroom, including DEI and ESG matters.(42:06) On the benefits of teaching (at Stanford GSB) for her CEO and board roles .(39:17) On dealing with the politicization of the boardroom, including DEI and ESG matters.(44:15) Three things top of mind on boardroom matters: 1) Setting up boards for success (norms, board evaluations, etc), 2) Keeping up with new technologies, and 3) Crisis scenario planning.(49:00) Books that have greatly influenced her life: Gung Ho, by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles (1997)The Overstory, by Richard Powers (2018)(51:14) Her mentors.*Reference to her LinkedIn Post: 5 Mentor Archetypes.(51:57) Quotes that she thinks of often or lives her life by.(53:15) About her book: Purposeful: Are you a Manager or a Movement Starter? (2018) The 3 Cs: 1) courage, 2) community, and 3) commitment.(54:40) An unusual habit or absurd thing that she loves.(56:00) The living person she most admires: Simone Biles.Jennifer Dulski is a Silicon Valley based executive and board member. She is currently CEO and founder of Rising Team, a company that provides tools, data, and community to turn managers into amazing coaches that build happier and more successful teams. You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    58 m
  • Sonita Lontoh: On Board Culture, Innovation, and Creative Tension

    Sonita Lontoh: On Board Culture, Innovation, and Creative Tension
    Jun 3 2024
    (0:00) Intro.(1:24) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.(2:12) Start of interview.(4:04) Sonita's "origin story." (5:45) Her professional career, starting with a startup in the gaming industry.(8:15) Her guiding principles for her career at the intersection of innovation, sustainability and digital transformation.(9:30) Her roles at HP, Siemens and PG&E.(11:00) Her board "portfolio" life starting in 2022: SunRun and TrueBlue. Advisor to Sway Ventures.(14:02) About the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Board Culture (where she served as a Commissioner).(17:00) Surprises and takeaways from the report.(22:30) Recommendations for handling the increasing politicization in the boardroom. (26:42) On geopolitics in the boardroom. Supply-chain vs consumer market.(31:30) On the solar and battery industry geopolitical landscape. (38:23) How should directors think about AI in the boardroom. "Everyday AI" vs "Game-changing AI". Use cases: 1) Back-office capabilities, 2) core capabilities, 3) front office, 4) New products and services. AI code of conduct. Use of data. Cybersecurity.(43:51) On the impact of AI in the workplace. *reference to study by Erik Brynjolfsson(47:09) Books that have greatly influenced her life: The Five Levels of Leadership, by John Maxwell (2011)Venture Mindset, by Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang (2024)Last Lecture Series at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (July 2023), by Graham Weaver.(48:06) Her mentors. (49:22) Quotes that she thinks of often or lives her life by.(50:44) An unusual habit or absurd thing that she loves.(51:30) The living person she most admires. Sonita Lontoh is a public company board director, strategic advisor, and former Fortune 100 senior executive who focuses on digital innovation, artificial intelligence (AI), and sustainability — contributing positive impact to businesses, consumers, and society. You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
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    53 m