On Boards Podcast Joe Ayoub & Raza Shaikh

Michael Greeley has extensive experience in venture capital and significant board experience across a multitude of investment boards. In this episode, he shares his experience and lessons learned, emphasizing the evolving nature of board governance, the strategic importance of independent directors and the future of healthcare.
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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes
1.     Evolution of Board Composition of investor-backed boards
Changes in the composition of investor-backed boards over the past 25 years, emphasize the need for a broader range of competencies beyond financial performance. The trend is to include diverse perspectives to help mitigate boardroom “groupthink.” "Boards today are very deliberately trying to have the right competencies... Today the pressure on boards is to have a much wider range of expertise; cybersecurity, sensitivity around DE&I issues, and we're seeing that reflected in our term sheets.
 
2.     Challenges in Board Compliance
Discussion on the difficulties boards face in complaining with term sheets guidelines, particularly around independent directors and diversity. "We did an audit... and said, 'How many of our companies actually have complied with that (term sheet requirement)?' And we were surprised, it was probably maybe half or two thirds… and frankly, if I could be just brutally honest, I think there's a little bit of an apathy to address deficiencies of boards."
 
3.     Importance of Independent Directors
The role of independent directors in providing an unbiased 'voice of the customer' to help guide company strategy and product market fit. "The power of that [independent director] is a little bit sector specific but I think it cuts across all sectors, the principal risk we take as healthcare tech investors is around product market fit, and independent directors are the voice of the customers."
 
Governance and Board Dynamics Michael's advocacy for more effective boards and the potential pitfalls of having too many observers or management members “in the room.” "I'm a traditionalist in the sense that the board should not be stacked with management because it is meant to be the body that opines on the strengths and shortcomings."
Future of Healthcare Michael's optimistic outlook on the 'golden age of healthcare' driven by technological advancements, regulatory changes, and innovative business models. "Arguably, the golden age of healthcare is upon us as the sector embraces novel and impactful solutions to improve outcomes and lower the cost of care."

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Episode Description
Nav Singh has held leadership roles at McKinsey's Boston office, including Managing Partner for Boston and Leader of the Global Innovation Practice. After retiring from McKinsey in 2023, he launched a new entrepreneurial venture, called 2123iX.                                 
In this episode Nav’s shares valuable insights on effective board practices, the importance of innovation and technology in governance, and the critical role of diversity in fostering successful organizational leadership. The episode emphasizes the importance of proactive, informed, and collaborative board engagement to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the next century.
Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes
 
1.    2123iX - A Century of Innovation
The name 2123iX originates from Nav's retirement year (2023) and his vision to impact the next 100 years. Its focus is on creating a culture and mindset for longevity and innovation and emphasizes patience and quality in building companies that will make a significant difference.
"2123 stands for a 100 years, “I” stands for innovation, “X” stands for scale. The most important thing is: we're in no rush. We want to build high-quality companies over time, we'll be purposeful and take our time doing it."
2. Board Preparation Insights from McKinsey:
·       Importance of thorough and honest preparation for board presentations
·       Engaging discussions over presentations to drive meaningful decisions.
 
"In my mind, a good board discussion preparation requires an honest view of what are the risks, what could go wrong, what are the main issues we're trying to solve...It is that holistic view that in my mind makes a good board presentation and results in a good board discussion."
3. Characteristics of High-Performing Boards:
·       The balance between healthy tension and collaboration between boards and management.
·       The critical role of the board chair in setting a positive, inclusive culture.
·       The necessity of continuous learning and adaptability among board members.
 
“Discussion is much more important than presentation.  Sometimes people become enamored by our presentation and the materials. But its the discussion that you drive, the decisions that you drive that matters the most."
 
"The most important thing is one should be on the same page. People should be on the same team.  People should be working towards the same goals… and there should be some healthy tension, that's good in my mind."
4. Diversity in Board Composition:
·       The impact of diverse perspectives on board strength and decision-making is enormous. Beyond gender and race, diversity includes age, skills, and the ability to learn is critical.
"Diversity is multifaceted and one needs to think about this in a holistic way...The most important thing in my mind is a learning ability."
5. Risk Identification and Management
·       Boards must think beyond the obvious and prepare for future risks. This weighs in favor of a dedicated risk committee to focus on emerging threats.
 
“I think risk is where most boards should earn their living...Defense means, in this case, thinking about what could go wrong...It is not just the identification of risk, what is the abatement plan, who is going to work on that, how do we address it?"
6. AI and Technology on Boards
·       The transformative potential of AI and technology on businesses and governance is almost beyond out imagination. It underscores the importance of having board members with technology expertise and a willingness to stay informed.
7. The Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce - A Model for Diversity
·       In the past few years the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce board of directors has made a successful eff

Angela Jackson is the founder of Future Forward Strategies, an award winning social entrepreneur, a global C-suite executive and an experienced board member. In this episode Angela discusses joining the board of Needham bank, a mutual bank that took itself public in December 2023, as well as her research – and her vison – of the future of work.
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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes:
1.     Needham Bank Board of Directors and the decision to take the Bank public
Angela discusses some of the reasons that she was interested in joining the Needham Bank Board of Directors. 
 
“The CEO, Joe Campanelli, is really a visionary leader with the strategy to support” 
 
“As a board, when we talked about the reason for going public, this is right after Silicon Valley Bank had folded and we had the banking crisis, and…a lot of banks had put a lot of restrictions on their lending. We all felt – led by Joe, that if we were to IPO at this time, we would actually have more cash to put on the street  to invest in local entrepreneurs and business leaders.”
 
Another reason to go public was around the values behind that. “They [management] wanted to do the IPO so they could invest in an employee stock ownership program, and for me and my work around the future of work, I deeply believe in companies and CEOs who are really seeing their employees as shareholders and the fact that we wanted to use the funds and to ensure that everyone from the frontlines to the C-suite could be an owner in a bank was significant.”
 
“…we looked at building a foundation that we could invest in local communities. For over a century, we had a history as a mutual  community bank, and so we wanted to continue that.  The vision is still how can we be national, but also hyper-local at the same time.”
 
We [the board] were completely aligned with how we wanted to use the money. It was values based to really invest in the community, who we're investing in, the talent and people, and then making sure that we were just being a good neighbor.
 
“… one more piece that struck me when I saw the board listing for Needham Bank…they were looking for someone with HR and human capital experience. If you look at most board listings, that is very rare. Most boards are looking for someone who's been a sitting CEO or a CFO, maybe someone in technology. You rarely see a listing for a human resource person.”
 
 
2.     Ringing the Closing bell at NASDAQ
“It was an exciting moment for all of us.”
 
“We're based here outside Boston in Needham and we're going to go to New York for the NASDAQ…We thought, how are we going to get everyone from the bank to New York, and so they came up with the idea that we're going to take these coach buses from Needham Bank, and it would travel to New York.
 
“Now, you would think any bank CEO who's deciding to do this, maybe they would fly in, and they would be there to meet everyone. Actually, Joe Campanelli jumped on the bus with everyone else, shoulder to shoulder, to make that five-hour plus journey to New York and to take it back to be there.”
 
“The enthusiasm, the camaraderie, it was really the feeling of what had happened, that we did this, from the front lines to the C-suite, it was because of the effort of the people in the bank that were all customer facing, some that are internal, that made this moment happen, it was amazing.”
 
3.     Board Practices
“One thing that I appreciated as I started out [as a new board member] is that we have full access to management, and we're encouraged to have a relationships with them.. If we have a question, we are comfortable going to them. And I think that transparency and access is key to really understanding what's happening and how we can best advise as a board.”
 
4.     Decision making on the Needham Bank board
I've been im

Episode 64 of On Boards Podcast features Charles Shirley, the Northeast Regional Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Practice. The episode dives deep into the nuances of effective board governance, with Shirley sharing insights from his extensive experience advising companies and serving on nonprofit boards. Here are the key highlights:
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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes:
 
1. Charles Shirley's Background: Shirley brings over three decades of experience from PwC, advising a broad range of industries and serving as a tax partner. His dedication to his work and his role as a trusted advisor globally are emphasized.
 
2. Effective Board Meetings: Shirley discusses the importance of preparation for board meetings by management teams and the board itself. He criticizes practices where management curates materials too perfectly, leading to passive board meetings. Instead, he advocates for transparency, robust questioning, and deeper engagement in board discussions.
 
3. Board Member Engagement and Fiduciary Duties: The episode highlights the critical role of board members in being proactive, well-prepared, and willing to challenge management to ensure effective governance. Shirley emphasizes the fiduciary duties of board members, including accountability, forward-looking perspectives, and contributing valuable insights.
 
4. The Role of the Board Chair in Governance: Shirley outlines the significant impact of the board chair in setting the culture and expectations for the board. A strong chair is essential for driving change and ensuring the board's effectiveness.
 
5. Trends in Governance and Challenges: Shirley observes positive trends towards more inclusive and diverse board discussions and the recognition of the importance of independent board members. However, he notes challenges with remote or hybrid meetings, arguing that in-person interactions are crucial for capturing the full benefits of board meetings.
 
6. uAspire Nonprofit Work: The conversation also covers Shirley's involvement with uAspire, a nonprofit focused on making post-secondary education accessible and affordable. He highlights the organization's impact and its approach to leveraging existing financial aid programs for greater effect.
 
The episode underscores the evolving nature of board governance, stressing the need for active participation, preparation, and the right mix of board composition to address modern challenges effectively. Shirley's experiences and insights offer valuable lessons for both seasoned and aspiring board members, emphasizing the importance of governance in achieving business success.
 
Quotes
1. On Passion for Work:
   - Charles Shirley: "I always introduce myself as the happiest person at PwC. It's a big place, but I love what we do. I think it's incredible."
 
2. On Effective Board Meetings:
   - Charles Shirley: "What really gets my attention and gets me frustrated and actually calls me to action is when I see a process where the management team in preparing for the board meeting is really going through an exercise to curate materials that are perfectly positioned or worded or framed."
 
3. On Board Member Engagement:
   - Charles Shirley: "It truly is a privilege, whether it's in the charitable sector or on the business sector, it's an honor, it's an opportunity to be part of a board and the ask should be pretty big."
 
4. On the Role of the Board Chair:
   - Charles Shirley: "The board chair sets the culture ultimately, and culture really matters, and successful boards have strong intentions, they've done their assessments, they understand what they need to be and they're mission driven."
 
5. On Collaboration and Transparency:
   - Charles Shirley: "I'm huge on collaboration and transparency and honesty and all those good things... My excitement or engagement with collaboration isn't just in helping me d

Stefania Mallett, co-founder and former CEO of ezCater, shares her entrepreneurial journey and insights into effective board governance. She emphasizes the importance of board composition, highlighting the pivotal role of understanding marketplaces and the nuances of investor-backed boards.
 
Stefania also discusses the crucial dynamic between CEOs and board chairs, the challenges in communicating complex business scenarios to board members and the critical process of succession planning.
 
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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes:
On Relationship Between Board and CEO/Management in Investment Backed Companies
“.. it's kind of like grandparents.  The board cares intensely, but in the end, they hand the baby back and you - the CEO and/or the managing team - you're the parents and you have to deal with all of the colicky moments and all of the ups and downs and all of the difficulties and so much more about what's going on inside the company.”
 
“It doesn't matter how effective a communicator you are, having been on both sides, I can tell you that the most well-intentioned, most transparent, most forthcoming CEO cannot possibly convey to the board everything that the management team knows.”
 
Origin Story of ezCater and Early Board
“..we closed [a company I had help found] down on a Thursday. I went home and got drunk on the weekend and on Monday we started the business that turned into ezCater, which was helping make food appear for business meetings[!]”
“Don't bring people onto your board who don't understand your business”
 
Evolution of the Board through ezCater’s Journey and role of a Board Chair
“we started to get more professional board members who understood our business.  We lucked into someone [Chris Cuddy] at Launchpad, who understood marketplace businesses, not specifically in the catering food for work business, but he came out of online travel [marketplace].  It turns out one marketplace is a lot more like another marketplace”
 
“we lucked into someone who became our board chair and $425 million of venture capital funding from some of the biggest venture companies on the planet later, we are now thousands of times the size we were when we first met this Chris”
 
 I don't have a velvet hammer as much as I'm impatient. Impatience is the mother of invention, and so when I watch Chris Cuddy our board chair do his work I think, "Oh my God, that's just better."  He's more patient. He listens. It doesn't really take longer. It feels like a circuitous path to the answer, but it's actually about the same length of time as I would have taken with less angst, less fireworks. The founder and CEO are not necessarily the best board chairs.”
 
Transition of CEO for ezCater
“the company was ready, and I was ready, and I went to the board meeting a few weeks later and I said, "Guys, I got to go. It's time.”
 
“We launched a search and found my successor. Because of internal discussions, because of the board's hesitation, because whatever, we ended up taking a year. We had the time, I mean it wasn't like running, screaming for the exits, and I wasn't doing a terrible job. My team was doing a super job”
 
“When this person started, now it's three months, four months, and it's quite clear, he has experience at the 10X level. He brings in knowledge, not just "I think we should try this,"”
 
Joe: “You have touched upon series of things that apparently apply to investor-backed companies and startups that also apply to every for-profit company, whether private or public. The importance of the chair, the importance of learning to share power - every CEO has to learn it, every founder has to learn it. Every investor, whether it's a startup or not, has to learn it.”
 
Effectiveness as a Board Member and Over-boarding
“One of the very best board members I have had in my entire career in al

Jocelyn Moore, a seasoned board member and former NFL executive, shares her diverse career experiences from Capitol Hill to the boardrooms of major technology companies like DraftKings and OppFi. Jocelyn discusses the intricate journey that led her to influential roles in corporate governance, emphasizing the importance of diversity in leadership and the ethical implications of AI in decision-making. This episode not only explores Jocelyn's remarkable career trajectory, but also delves into the broader implications of board composition and technology in modern corporate environments.
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Big Ideas/Thoughts/Quotes:
What was your NFL experience like?
It was like nothing else that I've ever done.  Such a tremendous lesson in the art of diplomacy with varying stakeholders, which has prepared me for a lot of the board service that I do now.
Is bipartisanship in Congress possible?
“I'll tell you that I think is really emblematic of how I grew up on Capitol Hill. In [Senator] Zell Miller's office, we had Democrats and Republicans both working in that office - - our political leanings didn't matter, we were all working for the people of Georgia, and that's something that really stuck with me during the 15 years that I worked in the Senate.”
Power of the network leading to DraftKings board
“Roberta Sidney, who you will know, and many in the audience will know - she is amazing. I've never met Roberta, she and I get on a call. We talked about the board opportunity and this particular board was not a good fit. But you know what Roberta did, because she is such a champion of people, a champion of women, she said, "Look, this may not be a good fit, but I'm going to introduce you to my friend Ilana Wolfe.” Ilana is at Goldman and is the driving force behind board diversification at Goldman's portfolio companies. 
 
I talked to Ilana and, little did I know at the time, she was this giant in the space. We talked. I told her about my background, and we left it at that.  After about a month went by, she called me back and said, "Hey, Jocelyn, I have this interesting board opportunity that I wanted to run by you -have you heard of the company DraftKings?"”
 
DraftKings Board Composition as it went Public
Like most public companies before they are public, the board was largely comprised of investors, and I joined soon after it went public in April of 2022. The makeup of the board changed as DraftKings became a public company.
 
DraftKings' commitment to inclusion, equity and belonging is very strong. At the same time that I joined the board, Valerie Mosley, a giant in Boston, joined the board, so two black women joined the board of DraftKings at the same time, and Michael Jordan became an advisor.
Importance of a board with diverse perspectives
“Board diversity is not a nice to have. It is a must have.”
“When you think about your customer base, whether it's DraftKings, OppFi, whatever company we're talking about, when we look at the makeup of America, it is extraordinarily diverse. When we think about how we create and generate revenue, how we sustain revenue, how we create long-term value, all of those things are dependent upon our customer base. If we do not embrace diversity, we are not maximizing our revenue potential. It is as simple as that.”
 
Angel Investing
“Entrepreneurs power our economy.  They are the ones who are the job creators in our country, and so to understand business and industry, you really have to go where business and industries are. And so that's why it was important for me to get involved with venture investing and angel investing to get a front row seat to industry in ways that I could have never imagined.”
 
From the On Boards Summit 2023: The coming wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI): What questions should boards be asking?
·      How will your company or board be impacted by AI?