Leading with Foresight: New Report from WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation and KPMG Board Leadership Center Shows the Way

NEW YORK, May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The speed of change is accelerating rapidly in every industry, and the list of S&P 500 companies has become a moving target, with the average age shrinking from 60 to 15 over the past half century.

"Successful boards today must excel at providing not only oversight and insight, but foresight as well," says Susan Angele, a senior advisor at KPMG's Board Leadership Center and chair of the WomenCorporateDirectors (WCD) Foundation's Thought Leadership Commission. "Building and maintaining a visionary board is a journey, and every board starts in a different place. This report is designed so that all directors, no matter where they begin, can find insights and practical suggestions to help them on their journey."

Angele is leading a panel to launch the Thought Leadership Commission's report – "Seeing Far and Seeing Wide: Moving Toward a Visionary Board" (see video) at the WCD Global Institute, which opens today in New York City, convening 275 corporate directors from around the world.

"One of the most challenging jobs of a board today is to guide their company into the future while ensuring that they are governing to the realities of today," says WCD Foundation CEO and Chairman Susan Stautberg. "Boards must be positioned to help their company create a strategy for the future, communicate that strategy with employees, investors, and business partners, and then execute. This report provides directors from anywhere around the world with best practices, tips, and case studies, so that we can all work together to accelerate corporate governance."

Developed over the past year, the report captures insights from the Commissioners' decades of experience in board service across continents, economic stages, and company types. Their recommendations include:

• Getting board composition right – Does your board have the skill sets and experiences required to move the company forward? Do the board members represent a broad perspective through diversity of expertise, industry, and experience in key geographies, gender, ethnicity, and generations?
• Gathering key information – Is the board hearing a balanced view about the company from management? Does the board consider a wide range of viewpoints, from employees in the field and customers to industry analysts, investors, and local communities?
• Bringing strategic vision to the boardroom – Is the board agenda flexible, while keeping strategy and related factors front and center? How does the board consider succession planning and talent beyond the CEO? Are the board dynamics healthy and free of biases that might impact clear decision-making?
• Understanding external forces – How does the board communicate with investors, leverage technology, and evaluate social and environmental factors in striving toward becoming and remaining truly visionary?

The full report can be found at http://www.womencorporatedirectors.com/?page=_ThoughtLeadership and http://www.kpmg.com/us/wcd. Additionally, biographic information of participating Commissioners can be found at http://www.kpmg.com/us/wcdbios.

For more information about "Seeing Far and Seeing Wide: Moving Toward a Visionary Board," or about the WCD Thought Leadership Commission, please contact Suzanne Oaks Brownstein or Trang Mar at 212-588-8788 or [email protected].

About WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. 
The WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc. (The WCD Foundation) is the only global membership organization and community of women corporate directors, with more than 3,500 members serving on more than 8,500 boards. A 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the WCD Foundation has 73 chapters around the world, with seven more to launch over the next year. The aggregate market capitalization of public companies on whose boards WCD Foundation members serve is over $8 trillion. In addition, WCD Foundation members serve on numerous boards of large private and family-run companies globally.

WCD Foundation membership provides a unique platform for learning from the intellectual capital of accomplished women from around the world, and the WCD Foundation's mission is to increase courage, candor, inclusion, and cohesion in the boardroom.

The WCD Foundation has chapters in Arizona, Atlanta, Austin, Beijing, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Chile, Cleveland, Colombia, Columbus, Dallas/Fort Worth, Delhi, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greater Colorado, Greater New Mexico, Guatemala, Gulf Cooperation Council, Hanoi, Hawaii, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kansas City, Kenya, London, Los Angeles/Orange County, Malaysia, Melbourne, Mexico, Milan, Minnesota, Mongolia, Morocco, Mumbai, Netherlands, New York, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern California, North Florida/South Georgia, Panama, Peru, Philadelphia, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Shanghai, Singapore, South Africa, South Florida, Spain, Switzerland, Sydney, Tampa, Tennessee, Toronto, Turkey, Uruguay, Washington, D.C., and Western Canada. For more information visit www.womencorporatedirectors.com or follow us on Twitter @WomenCorpDirs, #WCDboards.

About the KPMG Board Leadership Center
The KPMG Board Leadership Center champions outstanding governance to help drive long-term corporate value and enhance investor confidence. Through an array of programs and perspectives – including KPMG's Audit Committee Institute and Private Markets Group, the WomenCorporateDirectors Foundation, and more – the Center engages with directors and business leaders to help articulate their challenges and promote continuous improvement. Drawing on insights from KPMG professionals and governance experts worldwide, the Center delivers actionable thought leadership – on risk and strategy, talent and technology, globalization and compliance, financial reporting and audit quality, and more – all through a board lens. Learn more at KPMG.com/BLC.

SOURCE WomenCorporateDirectors Education and Development Foundation, Inc.

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