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The benefits of increased diversity to stakeholders are becoming more apparent and include an increased variety of fresh perspectives, improved decision making and oversight and strengthened internal controls. Over time, diverse boards will have more robust debates, make sounder decisions...

Stand-alone corporate responsibility and sustainability committees are also on the rise. The percentage of S&P 500 company boards with a separate sustainability committee jumped to 11% in 2022, up from 7% in 2019. These committees are primarily focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and ...

Boards need to be cognizant of not just the presence of women and diverse members, but whether they’re being welcomed and heard. Women should be given leadership roles on board committees where they can have greater influence....

Most, if not all, companies secure a cyber insurance policy to spread out or defer some risk and damage from a cyber breach. Many, however, are likely to start questioning whether the cost of their now-limited insurance policies are worth it. Based on years of cyber investigative experience, I believe Lloyd’s of London’s...

Representation is important — but it isn’t enough to make meaningful progress alone. To get the most out of a diverse board, it’s critical not just to recruit a few women or people of color, but to take an intersectional approach to diversity, challenge assumptions around status and experience, and invest in building a culture of true inclusion....

CII recommends limiting for-profit, corporate board service as follows: Directors who are employed full-time by a for-profit corporation should serve on no more than two total for-profit boards. All other directors should serve on no more than four total for-profit boards. Companies should disclose all board members’ for-profit, corporate directorships....

Companies with diverse boards of directors have been shown to outperform their competitors. These companies are less prone to stock instability, demonstrate increased investment in development, and see higher ROI for investors. The evidence has shown that the more diverse a board—in all forms—the better an organization performs overall...

Many directors tell us that that there is room to improve board materials. They want more management insights, better-highlighted risks, and shorter and more summarized materials. For audit committees, effective pre-meeting materials are critical given the volume of materials...

(W)hile financial literacy is part of every M.B.A. curriculum, the same isn’t true of cybersecurity. One executive we spoke with described the problem this way: “You typically don’t have to explain to members of the audit committee how a financial statement...

Boards need to resist the tendency for information to become siloed, which can occur as a result of different members of management reporting on multiple sources of data into different committees. For example, whistleblower reports can land in the audit committee, while feedback from employee surveys...