Directors
Goldman Sachs board
Goldman Sachs’ management was ahead of the curve in its focus on risk oversight, guided by its discerning board, so the company endured and persevered during the darkest days of the Great Recession at a time when other large financial institutions were crumbling. Director William W. George brings his experience as CEO of Medtronic from 1991 to 2001 and as chairman from 1996 until his retirement in 2002. George currently serves as professor of management practice at the Harvard Business School. He also sits on the board of ExxonMobil. Having served on Goldman’s board since 2006, Rajat K. Gupta, senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Co., also sits on the boards of AMR, Genpact, Harman International, and Procter & Gamble. Goldman Chairman and CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein; Gary D. Cohn, president and COO at Goldman; John H. Bryan, retired chairman and CEO of Sara Lee; Claes Dahlbäck, senior advisor to Investor AB; Stephen Friedman, chairman of Stone Point Capital; James A. Johnson, vice chairman of Perseus; Lois D. Juliber, vice chairman of Colgate-Palmolive; Lakshmi N. Mittal, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal; James J. Schiro, CEO of Zurich Financial Services; and Ruth J. Simmons, president of Brown University, comprise the rest of Goldman’s board.
Microsoft Board of Directors
With an all-star cast of directors, the board of Microsoft features leaders whose expertise lies in an array of industries. Chairman Bill Gates steers Microsoft’s board, having transitioned out of his daily role in the company back in June 2008. The company he constructed in 1973 from his Harvard freshman dorm room (down the hall from now-CEO Steve Ballmer) with childhood friend Paul Allen has since a veritable global juggernaut. Gates also sits on the board of Berkshire Hathaway, whose CEO, Warren Buffett, shares his passion for philanthropy and bridge. Gates and his wife, Melinda, started The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which supports philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and learning. While Gates helps steer the board, Dina Dublon, former CFO of JPMorgan Chase, lends her financial acumen to Microsoft’s board. Having served as executive vice president and CFO for JPMorgan Chase, Dublon was responsible for global financial management and reporting, acquisitions, corporate treasury and investor relations. Charles H. Noski, former vice chairman of AT&T, brings his extensive leadership prowess to Microsoft’s board, having retired from AT&T in 2002 after completing the company’s major restructuring. He also served as corporate vice president and CFO of Northrop Grumman. Rounding out the Microsoft board of directors: CEO Steve Ballmer; James I. Cash Jr., James E. Robison professor and senior associate dean emeritus at Harvard Business School; Raymond V. Gilmartin, former chairman, president and CEO of Merck; Reed Hastings, founder, chairman and CEO of Netflix; Maria M. Klawe, president of Harvey Mudd College; David F. Marquardt, general partner of August Capital; and Helmut Panke, former chairman of the board of management at BMW AG.
Norman Augustine, Black & Decker
Retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., Norman Augustine sits on Black & Decker’s board. Augustine previously served in roles with Douglas Aircraft and Vought Missiles and Space Co. before joining the U.S. Department of Defense, where he served as Undersecretary of the Army. In 1990, he chaired the Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program. He previously served on the board of ConocoPhillips. Augustine has received a great deal of recognition, including five times being awarded the Department of Defense’s highest civilian decoration, the Distinguished Service Medal. This year he was honored with a NACD Lifetime Achievement award.
Marilyn Carlson Nelson, ExxonMobil and Carlson Cos. (NACD Director of the Year)
Marilyn Carlson Nelson is no stranger to the spotlight, having been singled out as the Public Company Director of the Year by the NACD earlier this year. While her time on the board of Exxon-Mobil propelled her to the front of the nominees, she has played a major role in the good fortunes of a variety of other companies. In addition to ExxonMobil, where she has served as a director since 1991, she is chairman of Carlson Companies, the hospitality conglomerate that worldwide employs approximately 160,000 workers. She was CEO of Carlson until 2008.
Barbara Hackman Franklin, Aetna and Dow Chemical
While flipping through the channels on your television, don’t be surprised to see Barbara Hackman Franklin, president and CEO of Barbara Franklin Enterprises, on the PBS Nightly Business Report, where she is a regular commentator. She also sits on the boards of Aetna and Dow Chemical. Her corporate governance expertise is utilized at NACD, where she also serves as chairman. From 1992 to 1993, she served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. She is the recipient of the John J. McCloy Award for contributions to audit excellence and the Director of the Year Award from NACD.
Donald Keough, Coca-Cola and Berkshire Hathaway
Chairman of Allen & Co., the boutique investment bank started back in 1922, Donald Keough also serves on the boards of Coca-Cola, Berkshire Hathaway, and IAC/InterActiveCorp. Keough is among a select group of retired CEOs who now primarily serve on some of the globe’s most important boards. Author of The Ten Commandments for Business Failure, Keough lends experience stemming from his 60-year career, including his relationships with colleagues such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jack Welch, and Rupert Murdoch.
Walter E. Massey, Bank of America
A former physicist who once led two of the nation’s premier scientific organizations is now helping restore the battered financial-services industry. Walter Massey, formerly director of the Argonne National Laboratory and the National Science Foundation, serves as chairman of the board of Bank of America and is president emeritus at Morehouse College in Atlanta, having served as its president for 12 years. Massey currently serves as director of McDonald’s and previously served on the boards of Delta Airlines, Motorola, and BP.
William E. McCracken, CA Inc.
William E. McCracken is interim executive chairman at CA Inc. and previously served in numerous executive positions at IBM throughout his 36-year tenure there. McCracken joined CA’s board in 2005, serving as chairman of its special litigation committee. He is currently president of Executive Consulting Group and a director at IKON Office Solutions.
Harry Pearce, Nortel Networks
Head of the Chairman’s Forum, a peer organization of independent chairmen of North American boards started in conjunction with the Yale School of Management’s Millstein Center, Harry Pearce also serves as non-executive chairman of Nortel Networks Corp., and non-executive chairman of MDU Resources Group. Pearce is former chairman of Hughes Electronics, a GM division sold in 2003.
Edward Whitacre, General Motors
Edward Whitacre, chairman of embattled General Motors, is now putting his formidable skills to work trying to define the new GM. Recruited out of retirement in July by the U.S. Treasury, which is backing GM’s resuscitation, Whitacre offers his experience as chairman emeritus and former chairman and CEO of AT&T. He also sits on the boards of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. and ExxonMobil.
Very interesting and very valuable for my MBA level courses on corporate governance at Lubin School of Business, Pace University. We began offering the first MBA level course on COMPARATIVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, nearly four years ago. We now have added a second and third governance related courses and have under consideration both a double major for Accounting and Finance majors and a governance MBA. Your publications are very insightful and offer students a “real world” experience with governance and the important role of Directors.
Some years ago I created, edited and published the first texts available in English on all aspects of governance, company law and related industrial relations/labour relations (stakeholder laws)for the 12 major countries of Western Europe.
Professor John Alan James, Lubin School of Business, Pace University
Good job on a tough assignment. Of course no two people will ever agree on everyone who should or shouldn’t be on the list but the one person who immediately comes to my mind, and the minds of many in any discussion of corporate governance, is Robert A. J. Monks.
Bob was instrumental in creating a fiduciary duty for pension a mutual funds to vote in corporate elections. He found Institutional Shareholder Services (now part of the Risk Metrics Group), which many believe has almost monopoly power in advising institutional investors how to vote. He and Nell Minow (who you did include) then set up the LENS Fund, which paved the way for Relational Investors, GO and others on your list. Along with Nell, he then set up The Corporate Library, which you also include. You include several academics, all worthy, but it was Bob and Nell’s book, Corporate Governance, along with another earlier book by R.I. (Bob) Tricker, that virtually created the academic discipline.
I can’t understand how you missed this giant of the field… or maybe he’s on your list and I missed it?
We appreciate Jim McRitchie’s comment on Robert A.G Monks, and his achievements in the context of US corporate governance. In fact, Bob Monks was recognized by Directorship in our 2008 Corporate Governance Hall of Fame, and deservedly so (along with Bill Donaldson, Mike Oxley, Paul Sarbanes, and Ira Millstein). In addition to Bob’s many accomplishments, he also happens to be a first rate fellow and a delightful individual whom we admire and enjoy immensely.
– The Editors of Directorship
“has clearly helped the nation avoid further financial disaster and put the economy on the path to recovery.”
It’s been a year since your article. Perhaps you should reconsider that statement?
I’m going to have to echo Bill’s comment. While there certainly has been a “recovery” in the financial sector, thanks to a VERY generous Fed, the recovery everywhere else is completely lacking. It seems there are two different worlds, and if you’re not part of the financially connected, then you may not have the same view as the one described in the post.
I am glad to see Bob Monks getting a mention. A very impressive character who studied at both Cambridge AND Harvard and despite his many highly influencial positions has retained a salt of the earth personality. A very imformative post overall, thank you.
So here we are just over a year since this report was issued. Wonder where Barack stands now?