Thriving in the Boardroom: Trailblazing Women in Today’s Boardrooms

theBoardlist’s “Thriving in the Boardroom” is a monthly webinar series that brings you timely insider knowledge and practical advice from the executives leading some of the world's most dynamic boards.  Being a desirable board candidate and an effective board member requires an understanding of today's corporate governance standards and expectations, which only an inside view of today’s boardrooms can provide.  We invite anyone to join us and learn from our esteemed panelists during these open conversations. 

In celebration of Women's History Month, we brought together 3 varying perspectives from three trailblazing women -  Shellye Archambeau, Shannon Nash, and Aidan Madigan-Curtis - live during our inaugural "Thriving in the Boardroom" event. 

These successful executives and experienced board directors offered practical advice for aspiring board directors -  from how they positioned themselves to get the opportunity, to the preparation required to be effective on Day 1, and all of the other lessons they have learned along the way.

‍Here are a few key takeaways:

• Pick 3 things. Don't list all of your career accomplishments and executive skillsets in your Board Bio. Choose the three things you want to be known for so that people can tie those superpowers back to you.  Creating this curated and narrowed list will make  it more likely to be remembered when board searchers are looking for a new director. ‍
• Network, network, network. Our panelists were all in agreement that networking is the key to landing your first board role. Shannon pointed out that a great way to both network and educate is to participate in board prep programs (such as tBL Plus!).
• ‍Developing your due diligence list for board interviews is key to finding the right fit. Curious how to find the actual time commitment a board will require? Shellye offered this actionable tip: read the company's proxy statement to discover how many times the board really meets. If they schedule 5 meetings per year but actually hold double that - dig deeper. ‍
• Don't overlook private company opportunities. Aidan pointed out that private company board opportunities can be a wonderful experience, especially if your personal preference is to be called on often/to be the "batphone" for the CEO.
• ‍The main role of a board director: Our panelits were all in agreement that the main job of every board director - public or private, non-profit or for-profit - is to hold the CEO accountable. Board directors must guide the CEO and continually assess whether or not they are the right person to lead the company. 

Recommended Reading
Attendees agreed Shellye's book, Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms is a must-read. 

And Aidan recommended another great pick, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith.

‍Meet the Panelists: 

Shannon Nash currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at Wing, a drone delivery company and a subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc. She also serves on the Board and Audit Committee of NetScout Systems Inc., as well as on the boards for Lazy Dog Restaurants, and SoFi Bank.   Shannon was named to the 2022 Top 50 Women Leaders in Finance list by Women We Admire and received the 2022 Global Speaker award from Women in Technology. 

Aidan Madigan-Curtis is a Partner at Eclipse and leads Eclipse Venture Equity, the opportunity for founders who intend to start a business to partner with Eclipse from day zero. Prior GM at Samsara and board director at Voxel, Circular.co, Gravity Climate, Liberate, and Hosta a.i. She is passionate about working with founders and CEOs driven to push the boundaries of the digital-physical frontier.

Shellye Archambeau is a Fortune 500 board member, Former CEO of MetricStream, advisor and author with a track record of accomplishments building brands, high performance teams, and organizations. Shellye currently serves on the boards of Verizon, Roper Technologies, and Okta. She is also a strategic advisor to Forbes Ignite and the President of Arizona State University, and serves on the board of two national nonprofits, Catalyst and Braven.

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A replay of the March 2023 Thriving in the Boardroom event is available for a limited time, but tBL Plus members can enjoy exclusive on-demand access to theBoardlist community event replays. 

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