In an exclusive interview with Directorship, the chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, reflects on the financial crisis, compensation, corporate culture, and being quoted out of context.

Kenneth Feinberg, special master of compensation for the Obama administration, spoke at the Directorship Boardroom Leaders Forum at the Metropolitan Club in New York City Monday evening.

“It’s an unnatural situation when the government owns a lot of a private company. Unfortunately there is a view that that should exist for a long term. There’s some devaluation of what that asset would have been worth if it hadn’t had to go through that kind of management structure. It’s unavoidable.”
- Bill Gates, on
concerns [...]

A new breed of “humble” bosses have taken the helm of today’s leading companies and Schumpeter fears the trend is “surely in danger of taking all this too far.”

The Boston Club hosted its annual corporate salute to women directors and executive officers of Massachusetts public companies. Sharon Allen, chairman of Deloitte, spoke to the group, commending efforts to promote diversity in the boardroom and urged other companies to follow suit. The Boston Club referred to its Census which surveys the 100 largest public [...]

More companies are designating specific committees for environmental issues to help inform the board of potential problems.

“To achieve more balanced and durable economic growth and to reduce the risks of financial instability, we must avoid ever-increasing and unsustainable imbalances in trade and capital flows.”
- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke at a conference on
Asia sponsored by the San Francisco
Federal Reserve Bank.

Yearly elections for directors are becoming more popular.

“We are not doing any of that stuff… or stupid things [to pay policies that might arouse financial advisers to leave the bank].”
- Sallie Krawcheck, Bank of America’s
head of wealth management

“The odds are we [equity markets] flatten out…that flattening out will put some sort
of dull face on 2010.”
- Alan Greenspan, former Federal
Reserve chairman

“There’s a profound hunger for change, for leadership, and for authenticity. Californians want to trust their leaders again. They want to be told the truth. And most of all, they want to live in a place of opportunity and optimism, not a place of small dreams and scaled-down ambitions.”
- Meg Whitman, a California
gubernatorial candidate

CEOs experienced an increase in company perquisites just prior to the financial crisis in the beginning of 2009.

The U.S. government continues to be a driving force in the boardrooms of taxpayer fund recipients.

Bill Ackman’s efforts fail to unsettle Target’s board.

Boards and shareholders look for better ways to communicate as some investors believe corporate directors are giving them the silent treatment.

Finding talented and qualified candidates can be a daunting challenge, says Korn/Ferry’s Robert Hallagan.