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Corporate Boards in Challenging Times: Advisors, Supervisors, Gatekeepers?
The Board of Directors – a cornerstone of corporate governance responsible for management oversight, executive compensation, succession planning, crisis management, and
organizational direction – faces unprecedented challenges today. These include intensifying shareholder activism, global political and economic upheaval, technological disruption, cybersecurity threats, artificial intelligence, and an overall “sense of predictable future slipping away” (Zuboff, 2019). According to the Spencer Stuart Global Board Survey (2024), over 75% of directors report heightened business uncertainty, while fewer than one-third of CEOs believe they have the right board composition to address their
organizations’ needs. Our distinguished panel will discuss three critical questions for contemporary board of directors: (1) balancing shareholder activism and short-term pressures against long-term value creation, (2) navigating the board’s supervisory role versus its strategic advisory and gatekeeping functions, and (3) addressing cybersecurity challenges and AI implications for board governance.
Christina Ahmadjian has served as a non-executive director at major Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Japan Exchange Group (parent company of the Tokyo Stock Exchange), Asahi Group Holdings (parent company of Asahi Beer), and NEC. She advises Japanese companies and government on DEI, corporate governance, and innovation. Christina Ahmadjian is a professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. Her research interests include comparative corporate governance, interorganizational networks and business groups, the effect of global capital markets on local management practices, and the changing face of the Japanese firm. She received her BA from Harvard University, MBA from Stanford Business School, and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. Her publications have appeared in journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Organization Science, and the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization.
William Foote is retired chairman and CEO of USG Corporation, which he led from 1996 to 2011. He also served as a member of the board of Walgreens, Kohler, and a trustee of Williams College. He began his career at USG as vice president of strategic planning and served in a variety of increasingly responsible operating roles culminating in being named CEO in 1996. Prior to joining USG, he was a senior engagement manager at McKinsey & Company in Chicago and assistant treasurer at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Mr. Foote is a member of The Business Council and The Greater Milwaukee Committee. Foote is former chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, a life trustee of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a former trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry. He graduated cum laude from Williams College and holds a master’s degree from Harvard Business School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of the Century Club at Harvard.
Nurit Nahum holds a Ph.D. in Strategy studies, from Tel Aviv University, Coller School of Management, as well as having graduated from Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program. She is also an affiliated researcher at MMTC, Jonkoping University, Sweden. Her research interests are strategic decisions, the long-term growth and prosperity of firms and corporate governance. Nurit serves as the chairperson of LOG Pharma Packaging, and as a board member in various publicly traded firms, and teaches strategic management at the MBA program, TA university. Nurit is the former CEO of Ronin Investments, a privately owned investment company, VP of Economic and Business Development at Packer Plada Ltd., the CEO of the Business Consulting Unit at PWC Israel, and has held other leadership roles in industrial and technology companies.
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics