Northern California NACD Directorship 100™ Celebration Dinner 2025

The inaugural Northern California NACD Directorship 100™ Celebration Dinner at the Stanford Faculty Club celebrated our acclaimed Northern California directors. It was our honor to recognize our many local NACD Directorship 100™ honorees, past and present, alongside our board, Leadership Council, and NACD national leaders.

The evening featured a discussion with Northern California board members and three Directorship 100™ honorees on the topic of ‘Leading from the Boardroom.’ Maggie Wilderotter (recipient of the 2024 B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award), and Robin Washington, shared their leadership insights on a rapidly evolving governance landscape with Ira Ehrenpreis as moderator. Their discussion touched on:

Effective Board Leadership:

• Ask Questions, Don’t Make Statements: Board directors should prioritize asking questions to promote open dialogue, rather than simply making statements. Encourage this dynamic to foster greater engagement and collective problem-solving in the boardroom.

• Onboarding and Director Assessment: As a lead independent director, provide context about the company’s culture and nuances during onboarding. This helps new directors feel part of the team, and assessments should track their progression, ensuring that everyone feels equal and involved in the conversation. Group or one-on-one dinners provide a perfect environment to get to know your board colleagues better and improve team morale.

Building an Adaptive Board:

• Diversity of Thought and Listening: Emphasize the importance of diversity of thought on the board to enrich decision-making. Listening and learning are just as valuable as speaking. As the saying goes, we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. A successful board ensures that everyone’s voice is heard.

• Evaluating New Board Members: When bringing in new members, assess not only their skills but also their personality and how they will gel with the existing board. It’s vital to understand their fit and the dynamics they will bring to the group, particularly in times of adversity when board directors must be proactive and adaptable.

Strategic Planning and Crisis Management:

• Crisis Preparedness, Agility, and Resilience: Boards should proactively anticipate potential issues and prepare for crises through simulations or case studies. However, since it’s rare to be fully prepared for a specific crisis, agility becomes essential. Trust and teamwork within the board, as well as between the board and management, are key to successfully navigating challenges. Post-mortem discussions after a crisis are vital for enhancing future readiness, identifying opportunities that emerge from adversity, and building long-term resilience.

• Long-Term Thinking: Board members should encourage management to balance short-term goals with long-term shareholder value. By zooming out and thinking strategically, they can guide the company to success beyond immediate concerns. Reinvention is never done, and decision-making is never final.

Navigating Technological and Market Changes:

• Technology and AI: Directors need to stay ahead of technological advancements, particularly in areas like AI. Embracing constant learning and staying informed about disruptive technologies is key to ensuring the company’s future competitiveness. Stay up to date, lean in, and embrace technology. Learn from others and be a fast follower—even if you get it wrong, find the teachable moment.

• Private and Public Company Dynamics: Serving on boards of both private and public companies enhances a director's overall effectiveness by allowing learnings from one to be applied to the other—particularly by bringing public board governance practices to private companies while introducing dynamic and innovative ideas from more agile private companies to public boards.

Thank you to Baker Botts, Docusign, Lockton, and Sidley for sponsoring this wonderful evening and Limerick Lane Cellars for providing the wine.

Thank you to our board chair, Claudia Fan Munce, who hosted us at the prestigious Stanford Faculty Club as part of Emily Liggett’s and her “Leading from the Boardroom” class at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

We appreciate the newest NACD National board member Jay Miller and members of NACD’s leadership team, Marcel Bucsescu, Reno Dechaine, Julie Pitts, and Lisa Yao, who joined us to celebrate.

Photos by Frank Jang.