4 February, 2021

How boards can steer companies to ‘build back better’

When the history of the Covid-19 pandemic is written, it will no doubt note how, in one fell swoop, the bug accomplished something humanity had long struggled to do:

4 January, 2021

How technology threatens mental health—especially if you’re inauthentic

The word technostress is often credited to Craig Brod, an American psychologist who authored a book about the stress brought on by rapid changes in technology. It was published in 1984, the year Ronal...

16 November, 2020

A checklist for boards in the new normal

Boards make decisions that have a long-term impact on companies. In a survey of 266 chairs, directors and CEOs in 23 countries between May and June to assess

27 October, 2020

Leadership in wicked times

This extraordinary year has brought to the fore an unprecedented number of wicked problems—like Covid-19 or systemic racism. Global warming, developing over decades, arguably is the biggest one. Unl...

22 October, 2020

How hedge fund activists influence target firms

When the news broke in September 2016 that billionaire William A. Ackman had taken a 9.9% stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill, the stock of the burrito restaurant chain increased by nearly the same percen...

21 September, 2020

Pandemic or no, it’s business as usual for boards

The scale and pace of change unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic has no precedent in modern history. How well companies perform depends in part, at least, on their board of directors, the highest decis...

21 September, 2020

When corporate social responsibility is mostly for show

In developed economies, consumers have been saying it loud and clear: corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a must, not a nice-to-have. As far back as 2010, more than 88% of consumers thought firms...

1 September, 2020

Power, politics and crisis response on the board

When crisis kicks in, we tend to rely on instinct. Familiar solutions and well-honed responses will occur most naturally to us—regardless of their relevance to the problem at hand. If you want to kn...

27 August, 2020

The state of AI-driven digital transformation

Over the past decade, digital transformation has been changing and re-inventing the way organisations conduct business. Essentially, it is the process of leveraging digital technology to create new or...

25 August, 2020

How to make the most of a chief sustainability officer

A novelty in the C-suite not so long ago, the chief sustainability officer (CSO) is fast becoming a fixture in companies of note as climate change and inequality increasingly dominate global attention...