#board-governance

#board-governance

Boards have no process for developing or identifying the next generation of CFOs,

Mentions of exec security protocols are popping up in more proxy filings, and companies like Starbucks are changing corporate jet policies due to what it calls "significant heightened security concerns." These moves follow the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City and a shooting at a Park Avenue office building about eight months later. Both instances shattered long-held assumptions that corporate leaders were at least somewhat insulated from the types of violence more often associated with politicians or celebrities, several security executives told Business Insider.

The Pride organisation faced widespread criticism after announcing it would not uphold a set of resolutions proposed in November 2025 by members of the public during its annual general meeting. One of the resolutions rejected by the Board of Directors called for the main focus of the 2026 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival to be the rights of transgender and non-binary people by "encouraging parade floats to show support for the trans community."

Prior to changing its name to the Trump-Kennedy Center, its board reportedly adopted bylaws limiting voting to members appointed only by Donald Trump.

The museum's petition claims that Suda, who was three years into a five-year contract when she was fired, had repeatedly requested increases in pay from the compensation committee of the museum's board of trustees. When the committee refused, the petition claims, "Suda took the money anyway, defying the board and violating her contract". The petition does not specify the sums that Suda allegedly misappropriated; her starting base salary in 2022 was $720,000.

Suda says that her "for cause" termination was issued "without valid basis," alleging that she was dismissed while negotiating the terms of her departure because she refused to sign an agreement with PhAM that would not only "would allow the Museum's officers and agents to disparage [her], while [she] would be prohibited from discussing her departure publicly or defend[ing] her reputation," but also only afford her six months of severance pay versus the two years promised in her five-year contract.

Suda's lawsuit, filed Monday (10 November) in Pennsylvania state court, alleges that she was fired after clashing with "a small, corrupt faction" of the board of trustees who "formed an executive committee that actively worked to undermine Suda by attempting to sway staff, poison board relations and sabotage" the museum's pursuit of its mission. The lawsuit was first reported by The New York Times.

Today's business landscape is evolving faster than ever. Shifting regulatory expectations, heightened demands for transparency, economic volatility, and intensifying global competition are all contributing to unprecedented complexity and pressure in the boardroom. Breakthroughs in technology-especially AI-are helping organizations and the people within them expand what they can achieve, but not without hurdles to overcome. With no playbook for this era, boards must rise to the challenge to navigate uncertainty and chart a path for the future in real time.

Some experiences in life simply can't be prepared for. You can imagine how you might feel and what you might do, but you can never actually know how you will respond in a situation until it happens. Falling in love, becoming a parent, and facing one's mortality all fit into this category. In the workplace, your first interview, first day on the job, and the first time you're given the responsibility of managing others fall into this category.