Kirsten Settle at KPMG on Building a Diverse Board

Part­ner Kirsten Set­tle took the stage at a dis­tin­guished pan­el dis­cus­sion host­ed by KPMG’s Sil­i­con Val­ley Man­ag­ing Partner’s excep­tion­al team. The event was part of KPMG’s annu­al ​“Build­ing a Diverse Board” edu­ca­tion­al series, a pre­mier forum for exec­u­tives and board mem­bers. Held at the ele­gant Park James Hotel in Men­lo Park, the dis­cus­sion focused on ​“Uncov­er­ing the Risk of Gov­er­nance in the Board­room,” shed­ding light on var­i­ous crit­i­cal top­ics. Kirsten was joined by a remark­able pan­el of expert Board Mem­bers, includ­ing Chris­tine Gor­janc and Priya Huskins. Togeth­er, they delved into press­ing issues fac­ing Boards today. Here’s a look at some of the key themes explored dur­ing the discussion:

1. Board Engage­ment in C‑Level Search­es and Recruitment

The role of the board in exec­u­tive search­es and recruit­ment was thor­ough­ly exam­ined. The pan­el dis­cussed best prac­tices and strate­gies for boards to ensure they are effec­tive­ly involved dur­ing a CEO search or oth­er cru­cial senior lead­er­ship hires, as well as adding new mem­bers to the Board or replac­ing themselves.

2 Board Com­pen­sa­tion: Under­stand­ing the Nuances

The pan­el pro­vid­ed an in-depth analy­sis of board com­pen­sa­tion, explor­ing how board mem­bers are remu­ner­at­ed and what equi­ty com­pen­sa­tion tru­ly signifies.

3. Stake­hold­er Activism: Nav­i­gat­ing the Grow­ing Trend 

The pan­el exam­ined stake­hold­er activism and its increas­ing preva­lence and impli­ca­tions for gov­er­nance. The con­ver­sa­tion pro­vid­ed valu­able insights into how boards can effec­tive­ly engage with and respond to activist stakeholders.

4. The Impact of Delaware Law

The pro­posed changes to Delaware law and their poten­tial impact on cor­po­rate gov­er­nance were dis­cussed. This top­ic is cru­cial as Delaware remains a sig­nif­i­cant juris­dic­tion for cor­po­rate law, and any changes could have wide­spread effects.

5. The Real­i­ty of Board Time Commitment

The dis­cus­sion addressed the often-over­looked time and effort that board ser­vice demands, pro­vid­ing a can­did look at what it real­ly takes to serve effectively.

Oth­er top­ics dis­cussed includ­ed dif­fer­ent gov­er­nance chal­lenges faced by pub­lic VS. pri­vate com­pa­nies, Being on the board of a founder-led com­pa­ny, inter­na­tion­al board ser­vice and the crit­i­cal role of boards in cri­sis man­age­ment. Kirsten and her fel­low pan­elists offered a wealth of knowl­edge and prac­ti­cal advice on these impor­tant gov­er­nance issues. The event was a valu­able oppor­tu­ni­ty for exec­u­tives and board mem­bers to gain deep­er insights into the evolv­ing land­scape of cor­po­rate gov­er­nance. As the con­ver­sa­tion on gov­er­nance con­tin­ues to evolve, events like KPMG’s annu­al series play a cru­cial role in shap­ing the future of board­room prac­tices. We look for­ward to more dis­cus­sions that dri­ve under­stand­ing and inno­va­tion in governance.