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𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 New CEOs rarely arrive with new boards. More often than not, the board is already in place with set priorities and governance traditions. Unlike Executive teams which CEO’s can gradually shape through appointments and rotations, boards tend to have longer tenures, which means that the CEO is likely to work with the same board for the entirety of their service.   In the early days, while it might be tempting to reimagine the board and wish for one more aligned to your ideals, it is more prudent to seek clarity and alignment.  Drawing from both books and my own experience, a few key lessons stand out about aligning with an existing board while charting a new course: 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 Every board has its own rhythm, history, and unwritten codes. In early meetings, asking more questions than you answer and observing how directors deliberate and where influence lies builds trust more effectively than asserting authority. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 The board governs, while the CEO executes. Preserving that distinction is crucial. When boundaries blur, both roles suffer. Clear communication and strategic focus build mutual confidence. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 Boards respond best to transparent strategy and clear framing of risk and opportunity. Distilling complex issues into focused priorities, supported by data and timelines, accelerates alignment and enables faster decisions. 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 Boards often carry history, be it from past transitions, refined strategies, or external shocks. A CEO who acknowledges that history without being defined by it shows emotional intelligence and strategic maturity. One-on-one conversations with directors can help you quickly unearth insights that will be instrumental in your future engagements with the Board.   Manage expectations early Boards carry both hopes and pressures. Without clear expectation setting, a CEO may be measured against unspoken assumptions. Clarifying what is realistic in the short, medium, and long term fosters shared understanding and prevents avoidable frustration. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 Alignment is not about unanimous agreement. It is about building conviction around shared purpose and direction. Dissent, when used to test assumptions, can lead to stronger, more resilient decisions. The Chair–CEO relationship is central to this. Investing in it sets the tone for the entire board. The CEO–Board relationship should never be an afterthought. It is a cornerstone of resilience and a catalyst for long-term growth. • How are you building trust with the board you have today? • What principles have helped you align with a board you did not choose? • And perhaps most importantly, how are you unlocking the potential of the one you inherited?

At a dinner last week with some CEOs in Europe, an interesting topic came up: Why do experienced Boards, full of smart people, still get big calls wrong? Some of the CEOs struggled with their Boards decision making process. This matter kept bothering me. I realized it happens more often than we admit despite smart people and strong track records. The data is uncomfortable:   • 𝟯𝟭% 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 at all (Board Intelligence, 2025)   • Average 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝟯𝟰 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝟭𝟬𝟬 (Board Intelligence, 2025)   • 𝟱𝟱% of directors say 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱, the highest ever recorded (PwC, 2025) In my experience, few things help: ✅ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀   • Before a major call, ask: what could be clouding our judgment? Too much confidence, or money already spent?   • Ask one director to argue the opposite case   • Peloton bet the pandemic boom would last. They spent $400M on a new factory, then had 500 days of unsold stock. ✅ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻   • Ask for short crisp summary: what matters? What works? What does not?   • Push for the right presentation balance: strong substance, shorter decks   • No Boeing committee owned airplane safety. It never reached the Board agenda. Two 737 MAX crashes followed, in 2018 and 2019 ✅ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀   • Let every independent director speak before the Chair or CEO conclude   • Ask hard questions, such as: what would make us regret this in two years?   • In 2020, Rio Tinto blew up 46,000-year-old sacred caves for iron ore. It had cheaper options. Nobody challenged it. The CEO and Chair lost their jobs. ✅ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱   • Map director skills against the next 3 years, not the last 10   • Recruit for the missing expertise, not for familiarity or friendship   • At Silicon Valley Bank only one of seven risk-committee directors knew risk. It collapsed in 2023. Good governance is different than good decisions. The best Boards work on both. 💡 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀? #BoardDirectors #CorporateGovernance #Leadership #BoardEffectiveness #DecisionMaking #Strategy

A few weeks back, I watched Maggie Hott, GTM leader at OpenAI, confidently navigate her first board meeting at Unify. Having worked with her through Emergence Capital's Operator in Residence (OIR) program, seeing her immediately contribute valuable insights made me think about how most board members receive virtually no training for this critical role. At Emergence, we've built our firm around developing board excellence. We grow all our partners from within and have established a culture of mentorship focused on board service. Junior investors aren't thrown into the deep end—we pair them with senior GPs to observe effective board dynamics firsthand. My initial experience was at DroneDeploy alongside my partner Kevin Spain, where I got great mentorship before taking on independent board responsibilities. We extend this methodology to our OIR program, where operators learn how to be effective board members. Based on my experience mentoring directors, here are the fundamental principles I share with first-timers for how board members can best support founders: 1. Reframe the purpose: Problem-solving, not reporting If your board meeting is primarily reporting, you're wasting your management team's time. Information sharing should happen asynchronously, with board members engaging with materials before the meeting. This enables the live session to leverage collective intelligence on critical challenges. This rarely happens because many directors overextend themselves across too many boards—another reason we maintain a disciplined investment pace. 2. Master the Socratic approach The most valuable contribution often comes through thoughtful questions rather than declarative statements. Your objective is to enhance the decision-making capability of management. I enter each meeting with 1-3 specific areas where I know I can add value, focusing questions on these topics. 3. Follow-through separates professionals from amateurs Diligently document your commitments, establish clear action items, and execute them. It's crazy how just doing this proactively makes a board member stand out. 4. Understand your unique contribution to the board ecosystem A high-functioning board resembles a great basketball team—you need complementary skills, not redundant ones. In every meeting, I stay conscious of my distinct value relative to others in the room, whether that's SaaS expertise, AI knowledge, or a particular relationship dynamic with the CEO. I calibrate my role based on needs—sometimes assertively addressing areas where others have less experience, other times asking probing questions where fellow members have deeper expertise. -- To my knowledge, Emergence is the only VC firm with a formalized program dedicated to board excellence. It's an investment that yields returns where they matter most—in bending the odds of success for our founders. Founders, I'm curious: What board member behaviors have you found most valuable?

To perform their duties responsibly, boards must function as Humans + AI. Adopting new working structures and evolved governance structures incorporating AI can lead to substantial performance improvement. Much of my current work with boards is on strategic framing for AI and in AI-augmented decision-making, but there is considerably more potential. A very nice HBR piece brings real-world insights to bear. The first finding was that directors and chairs largely failed to recognize the value and potential of AI in their work. However still many boards and directors are using AI in useful ways. MEETING PREPARATION Directors who use LLMs reported significantly improved understanding of agenda items and reduced workload. One director across five Danish boards uses AI to structure presentations and run simulations; another in Switzerland uses it to refine board discussion questions from the board book. SCENARIO PLANNING GenAI, used well, can be an excellent tool for rapid scenario planning. One board in Austria used an LLM to analyze geopolitical risk in an acquisition proposal. This led to it rejecting the deal, and resulted in management attaching scenario analyses to future proposals. ADDITIONAL PERSPECTIVES Boards in Finland and the Netherlands used AI to test their own strategic conclusions, finding significant overlap between AI-generated insights and their human decisions. This boosted both their confidence in the decisions and their trust in AI’s utility, particularly for validating or challenging complex judgments. IMPROVING BOARD DYNAMICS AI can offer real-time feedback on boardroom dynamics. For example, a Swiss industrial company uses AI to analyze speaking time, tone, and engagement during meetings, creating recommendations for better group engagement. The article addresses potential risks: 🔐 Information leaks. These stem not from AI itself but from poor data governance, which can be mitigated with proper access controls and security training. ⚖️ Sample bias. Regular audits and user awareness are key to avoiding flawed, discriminatory, or incomplete insights. 🧭 Anchoring in the past. AI can be overly reliant on historical data. Scenario simulations and reasoning models can help boards anticipate and adapt to future shifts. And concludes with recommendations on learning to use AI well: 1️⃣ Create engagement. Chairs should start with one-on-one conversations to assess AI literacy and follow up with tailored training to build confidence and interest. 2️⃣ Practice collective experimentation. Boards should test AI tools together in low-stakes settings, debrief their experiences, and gradually integrate AI into governance processes. 3️⃣ Maintain momentum. Chairs must lead by example, celebrate AI use regardless of outcomes, and embed AI progress into board evaluations. I am currently working on a 'GenAI in the Boardroom' mini-report that I will be sharing soon, addressing these and a range of other issues and possibilities.

𝟗𝟒% 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐄𝐎𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. I came across this in an Harvard Business Review and it struck me as a wake-up call for boards and a sharp reflection of today’s governance reality. Modern boards face a paradox: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. Most meet a few times a year, across time zones and agendas. Even the most seasoned directors can struggle to connect cross-functional dots, reconcile competing views and keep pace with the complexity of today’s enterprises. 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. In an experiment by The Wharton School and INSEAD, researchers compared human boards with an AI “board” trained on the same governance protocols. The results were telling: - The AI board made 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐫, 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, moving naturally from facts to trade-offs to implementation. - It surfaced data in 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, flagged inconsistencies and proposed concrete next steps. - It even ensured 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 “𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞” 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝. But 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐦𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. The relational dynamics of governance are irreplaceable. Yet boards can should learn from AI when it comes to structure: 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Use AI to support better sequencing from facts → options → trade-offs → decisions, rather than jumping straight to opinions. 𝐁𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. AI “chairs” pulled every participant into the discussion; human chairs often default to the loudest or most senior voice. 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲. Instead of detaching from difficult topics, boards should use AI to break down complexity with frameworks, scenarios and relevant insights. 𝐀𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞-𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭. The mandate is clear: 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥, embedding it into board packs, committee work and strategy discussions, to enhance the quality, speed and inclusivity of their oversight.

A deficit budget isn’t automatically a red flag. But approving one without clear principles is. The year-end is often when organisations review their investments and returns, and plan for the next year. Over the years, I’ve voted “yes” to deficit budgets. I’ve also voted “no” for organisations I care deeply about. Both decisions came from the same belief: Board members are not here to say yes to passion alone. We’re here to say yes to 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. Because in the social and health sectors, I’ve learned this the hard way: 👉 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹. There are deficits I can support when we have:  • A clear runway A time-bound plan: why we’re running a deficit, for how long, and how we return to balance.  • Grounded income assumptions Projections linked to track record, named strategies, and realistic capacity.  • Operational clarity A working sense of costs, priorities, and what gets protected, trimmed, or redesigned if income falls short. And there are deficits I struggle to support when:  • “We’ll raise more” is a hope, not a plan.  • Multiple years of red ink appear without a stop-loss.  • No one can describe the contingency playbook. In those moments, a “no” vote isn’t disloyalty. It can be an act of care. For staff, beneficiaries, and the organisation’s long-term trust. Good people can disagree on budgets. But every director should be able to explain, clearly and calmly, why we said yes. Or why we couldn’t. If you are a board or ExCo member: What principles guide your “yes” or “no” to a deficit budget? #NonprofitGovernance #BoardLeadership #FinancialStewardship #FinancialSustainability #Budgeting #SocialImpact

Things I’d tell you as a Nonprofit Controller if I wasn’t afraid to hurt your feelings: You can’t expect clean financials when you don’t review reports or provide feedback. Silence during the month always turns into panic at audit time. No, we cannot “just record it” because you said it happened. Where’s the invoice? Contract? Receipt? Approval? Something. Editing invoices, transactions, or payroll after month-end close without telling your accountant is a recipe for inaccurate financials. Your accounting team should not have to chase you for basic documentation every single month. Financial management is a partnership. A budget is not a document you create once a year and never look at again. It should guide your decisions not be an afterthought. Delayed responses from leadership create delayed financials. Period. You cannot scale a nonprofit on messy processes and financial guesswork. We are not magicians. If information is missing, incomplete, or constantly changing, the financials will reflect that. Audit readiness is not something you start 30 days before the auditors arrive. If every transaction requires your accountant to play detective, your month-end close will always drag. Nonprofit finance is not just bookkeeping It’s infrastructure It’s accountability It’s leadership

REALITY CHECK FOR FINANCE DIRECTORS IN THE NGO SECTOR: What They Don’t Tell You About Becoming a Finance Director in the NGO World⁉️ They’ll tell you it’s a leadership role. That you’ll manage budgets, donor reports, and audits. They’ll tell you that your work helps fuel impact on the ground. But here’s what they don’t tell you: 🟠You’ll be expected to stretch donor funds and still meet every compliance clause, even when needs outweigh budgets. 🟠You’ll walk the fine line between program ambition and financial realism, often being the “No” in rooms full of “Yes.” 🟠You’ll explain again why proper procurement or a clean audit matters, not just for the books, but for trust. 🟠You’ll juggle donor-specific rules, local laws, and internal policies, and still be asked why something takes time. 🟠You’ll absorb pressure from both HQ and field teams, even when you had no seat at the table where decisions were made. 🟠You’ll find yourself advocating for finance as a strategic partner, in organizations that still see it as a “back office function.” And yet... 🫥You’ll be the invisible engine that keeps missions running. 🫥You’ll protect integrity when shortcuts tempt the system. 🫥You’ll create clarity in chaos, especially when crises hit, funding drops, or partners fall short. 🫥You’ll lead quietly, but powerfully, by ensuring that every dollar does what it was intended to do To every NGO Finance Director holding it together behind the scenes, you are the backbone of accountability, resilience, and impact. Keep pushing. Share this with every Finance person you know!

As Board Chair of Illumyn Impact and illumyn, I was energized by our collaboration with JPMorgan Chase, convening 150 executives, investors, and board leaders for the Boardroom Collective—an initiative dedicated to building exceptional boardrooms worldwide through stronger governance, composition, and talent. I had the privilege of moderating "The 1,000-Foot View: How Economic Shifts, Tariffs, and Global Trends Are Reshaping Boards" with Scott Miller, Emily Harding, Alfredo Peretti, and Jennifer Knight. Here are the key insights: The Pace Has Changed - The fundamental questions remain the same—but the speed and stakes have intensified - Tariffs have elevated from operational issues to board-level decisions with direct pricing and communications impact Expanded Board Mandates - National security is no longer optional in boardroom discussions - Boards must actively prepare for cyber threats and international conflicts affecting private enterprises Supply Chain Transformation - Just-in-time sourcing is being replaced by resilience-focused strategies - Companies are diversifying across Vietnam, India, Mexico, and domestic U.S. operations What Investors Demand - Demonstrate strategic thinking 5-10 years out - Engage directly with investors, not just through management - Prioritize operators with proven crisis management experience Governance Excellence - Challenge assumptions:  "What if we're wrong?" - Replace lengthy decks with candid, descriptive board memos - Build robust scenario plans that address both risk and opportunity High-Performing Boards - Maintain agility - Create cultures where bad news travels fast - Anticipate challenges before they arrive - Regularly refresh membership and perspectives

82% of nonprofits struggle financially in downturns, but only 14% do this one thing that could save them. Revenue diversification. For a sector focused on resilience and impact, that’s a dangerous gap. Relying on a single revenue source, like grants or donations, is like walking a tightrope without a safety net. Startups learned this lesson years ago. They thrive by building scalable, predictable revenue models. It’s time nonprofits did the same. What diversification really looks like: 1. Earned Revenue: Online courses, workshops, or product sales. (Example: A nonprofit teaching financial literacy offers a paid certification course.) 2. Corporate Partnerships: Strategic sponsorships, cause marketing, or licensing. (Example: Partnering with companies for a percentage of sales on branded products.) 3. Grants: Yes, still valuable, but don’t make them your only lifeline. Why it matters: When the economy tanks, donations are the first to dry up. Diversification = flexibility, stability, and growth, even in hard times. Your Action Step: 1. List your top 3 funding sources. 2. Brainstorm one new revenue opportunity. (Hint: Think about assets you already have, knowledge, networks, or tools, and turn them into revenue.) Nonprofits need to stop thinking small and start thinking scalable. You can’t rely on fragile funding. With purpose and impact, Mario