Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Boards of directors have the responsibility of preserving and extending shareholder value and holding the CEO and management team accountable for developing and deploying strategies to deal with a dynamic market.

The Nomination committee advises the board of directors regarding new board members. It has the power and authority to change board composition which in essence will change how the board functions as a unit.

Task oriented directors are very focused and committed to reaching the goals and objectives set out in the corporate strategic plan. These directors are very detailed oriented in defining the steps necessary for corporate management to undertake to reach their objective.

Directors and CEOs alike want extraordinary results from their company. Inspiring leaders lead people, managers manage employees. Leadership development entails learning to inspire ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results.

Director and Officer Insurance (D&O) was first introduced to the market to cover directors and officers of for-profit corporations, and unlike general liability insurance standard language is generally not available.

Non-profit boards of directors are rarely compensated for their governance. However, the practice is growing, slowly, due to the increased demands, increased regulations, and greater financial oversight responsibilities of non-profit board members.

Few decisions made by a board can alter the functionality of a board more than new board member selection. The Nominating committee is one of the three most powerful committees a board usually establishes in the course of normal business.

Errors and Omissions insurance has been popular since the 1960’s and covers mistakes, wrongful acts, acts of negligence on the part of a company with respect to products and services and extends to contractors performing services on behalf of the policyholder as well.

Corporate governance is the subject of many books and seminars. Every expert has theories to enhance performance and to take the board to the next level.

Companies must have professional governance to operate in the complex business and corporate finance environment prevalent in today’s business world. This is true for privately held companies as well as publicly traded ones.