Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein cover art

Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

By: Evan Epstein
Listen for free

About this listen

 In-depth interview podcast with leading corporate governance experts, including world-class founders, scholars, board members, executives, investors and more. The content is structured as a long-form conversation to explore not only the latest corporate governance trends, but also to get some personal insights from some of the best and brightest minds behind America's boardrooms.2020-2025 Boardroom Governance Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Michal Lev-Ram: On the Intersecting Worlds of Tech, Culture, and Politics in Silicon Valley

    Michal Lev-Ram: On the Intersecting Worlds of Tech, Culture, and Politics in Silicon Valley
    Jun 4 2025
    (0:00) Intro(1:09) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel(1:56) Start of interview(2:39) Michal's origin story(5:05) Her start in journalism in Silicon Valley with Business 2.0. magazine and later at Fortune Magazine.(7:45) Her project Operation Firewall (audible original podcast involving cybersecurity)(11:40) The current state of tech, particularly AI, in Silicon Valley. "I tend to be cautiously optimistic"(14:59) On Mira Murati's Thinking Machine Labs founder control. *Michal's profile of Murati in Fortune (2023)(16:00) On AI companies' fiduciary duties "to humanity"(18:05) "For me, the jury is still out for OpenAI" *my reference to the episode with Tyler Shultz (E142)(21:27) Her take on Riyadh, based on a recent MPW Summit that they hosted for Fortune in Saudi Arabia. *Saudi 2030 Vision(29:10) On the her new podcast: What's Your Number? looking at the Israeli economy, but through a global lens.(33:38) On the politicization of the boardroom (and pushback to ESG and DEI).(38:05) Her profile of Bob Lee in Esquire "Sex, Drugs, and Murder in Tech Land" (Feb 2025)(42:33) The changing narrative of technology. "I think that creativity is missing"(44:03) Books that have greatly influenced her life:Hiroshima by John Hersey (1946)Old Testament(45:17) Her mentors:Adam Lushinsky Stephanie Mehta(46:23) Quotes that she thinks of often or lives her life by: "Your happiness in life is directly proportional to the number of tough conversations you're willing to have." (47:35) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that she loves.(48:46) The living person she most admires.Michal Lev-Ram is a Silicon Valley-based journalist who writes about the intersecting (and sometimes colliding) worlds of tech, culture, and politics. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins
  • Alex Edmans: How Board Members Can Challenge Bias and Think More Critically

    Alex Edmans: How Board Members Can Challenge Bias and Think More Critically
    May 21 2025
    (0:00) Intro(1:37) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel(2:24) Start of interview(3:10) Alex's origin story(5:56) His advisory boards and other board positions. On the importance of the academic practitioner nexus.(7:02) About his book May Contain Lies (2024)(10:07) About confirmation bias, relevant to corporate directors.(11:48) About black and white thinking (binary thinking).(14:44) Dissent in the boardroom. How in the UK directors don't have "skin the game" (no equity compensation).(21:59) On his "ladder of misinference": helps understand how misinformation can be perpetuated by misinterpreting the steps in a logical argument. The four key stages are: a statement is not fact, a fact is not data, data is not evidence, and evidence is not proof.(27:27) On his book "Grow the Pie" and the shareholder and stakeholder debate.(30:13) On the pushback against ESG in the US ("pushback is better than backlash"). His paper The End of ESG (2023)(32:53) On the use and misuse of board diversity data. His paper: (Diversity) Equity and Inclusion (2023)(40:34) On AI and the boardroom(44:15) On Public Benefit Corporations (PBCs). (49:23) The value of scientific research for boards(50:27) Books that has greatly influenced his life:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey (1989)The Little Prince by Antoine to Saint-Exupéry (1943)The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (1988)(53:12) His mentors:His dadWilliam Chalmers (CFO at Lloyds Banking Group, ex boss at Morgan Stanley)Learning from every situation(54:25) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by: "You can do everything you want to and be everything you want to be but not all at once" (Laurie Hodrick). "You don't know how many times you'll get to play in your life so if you do get the chance you've got to rock it big time" (Tony Mortimer, East 17)(56:53) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves: exercising daily.(59:06) The living person he most admires: Stuart Pearce.Alex Edmans is a Professor at London Business School, Fellow of the British Academy; and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • Rick Horvath (Dechert): What Corporate Directors Need to Know About Delaware's SB 21

    Rick Horvath (Dechert): What Corporate Directors Need to Know About Delaware's SB 21
    May 12 2025
    (0:00) Intro(1:14) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel(2:01) Start of interview(4:38) His professional background starting with Skadden in Delaware.(5:08) About his corporate governance practice at Dechert LLP(8:10) How Delaware Came to Dominate U.S. Incorporations(13:14) What prompted the pushback against Delaware(15:12) The Tornetta v Musk decision (Elon Musk CEO compensation rescission)(18:40) The Rationale Behind the Governor and Legislature’s Support for SB21 in Delaware.(22:38) Changes to Controlled Stockholder Transactions and the Definition of a Controller (Safe Harbor Provision under Section 144)(24:18) Doctrine of Transaction-Specific Control (reference to paper by Pollman and Will, 2025)(26:06) Explaining the MFW Doctrine, a Delaware law concept that provides a pathway to business judgment review for transactions involving a controlling stockholder, instead of the more rigorous "entire fairness" review (pre SB-21). "The view had become the MFW doctrine was creating both litigation risk and deal uncertainty."(30:45) Changes to Section 220 Shareholder Inspection Rights by SB21.(34:04) Will SB21 stem the tide of reincorporations? "I think it is enabling companies that had been looking at moves to pause"(37:00) Competing States: Nevada and Texas (40:17) Revisiting Caremark claims (directors' oversight duties). Legal risks vs business risks.(44:50) Book that has greatly influenced his life: Hagakure (early 1700s, Japan)(45:47) His mentors:Mark Thierfelder (Co-Chair, Dechert) Eric Waxman (Ares Management) Tom Allingham (former partner at Skadden)(46:58) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by.(47:52) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves. (49:11) The living person he most admires: former Delaware Chancellor William B. Chandler, III.Rick Horvath is a partner at Dechert LLP in San Francisco and focuses his practice on corporate governance matters. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
    Show More Show Less
    51 mins

What listeners say about Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.