(0:00) Introduction to the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit
(02:18) The Board’s Role in CEO Succession: why succession is about more than hiring and firing the CEO, and why boards should think about the entire executive management team
(04:57) Is the CEO You Have Today the CEO You Need Tomorrow? How rapid changes in markets, technology, and industry can change the leadership profile a company needs
(06:31) Why Succession Plans Fail: boards know succession is important, so why are so many still unprepared?
(07:54) Succession as an Ongoing Process: why the conversation should begin on the first day of a CEO’s tenure
(09:23) The Emotion of CEO Succession: ego, fear, trust, and why succession can become one of the most difficult conversations between a board and a CEO
(11:14) Who Owns CEO Succession? The role of the board chair, Nom/Gov Committee, Comp Committee, and other board leaders
(13:24) Developing Internal Candidates: how directors can build relationships with senior executives and assess whether they could realistically become CEO
(14:57) The P&L Test: if operating experience is essential for the next CEO, boards need to create those development opportunities years in advance
(17:53) Private Equity and CEO Succession: the influence of investment horizons, exit expectations, and the private equity sponsor
(19:24) Family-Owned Companies: long-term ownership, outside CEOs, independent boards, and succession across generations
(20:41) Venture-Backed Companies: what happens when investors have backed the founder but the founder may no longer be the right CEO to scale the company
(22:47) Founder Control and Dual-Class Shares: the limits of board influence when founders retain voting control
(24:56) Shareholder Activism: why activists often target CEO performance through the board and how directors should assess their own vulnerabilities
(28:00) AI and the Next Generation of CEOs: why intellectual curiosity, adaptability, and the willingness to learn may matter more than claiming to be an AI expert
(30:06) How AI, geopolitics, and accelerating change are reshaping the qualities boards should look for in CEOs
Karen Francis DeGolia is a board member at Vontier, CelLink, and NAUTO. Penny Herscher is a board member at Lumentum, Penguin Solutions, Forvia SA, and Modern Health.
This conversation was recorded at the inaugural Boardroom Governance Summit in Healdsburg, California, on August 26–27, 2026.
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Music: “Seeing The Future” by Dexter Britain, via Free Music Archive, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
