Claiming Your Place at the Boardroom Table: The Essential Handbook for Excellence in Governance and Effective Directorship

Serving on a corporate board isn't what it used to be. In today's complex business landscape, meaningful corporate governance requires solid skills in problem-solving, relationship-building, crisis management, leadership development, management oversight, and much more.

Written for both seasoned and first-time directors, Claiming Your Place at the Boardroom Table is a roadmap to becoming a highly knowledgeable and effective board member. Whether you’re dealing with intricate business regulations, powerful personalities, crucial audits, or the many other challenges that come with serving on a board, you’ll find all the information and insights you need in these pages.

Written by experts in the field, Claiming Your Place at the Boardroom Table covers:

• The essential objectives of the corporate board
• An overview of effective corporate board service
• Securing an invitation to your first corporate board
• Positioning to join your next or ideal corporate board
• Understanding financial issues board members must cover
• All the critical information you need to know about public company reporting
• Proven ways to be a leading member of any board you serve on

Packed with real-life case studies illustrating the best of the best practices, Claiming Your Place at the Boardroom Table helps you identify and navigate nuances that will make all the difference in becoming an outstanding board member. Fascinating discussions of legal cases, reporting requirements, regulatory matters, reputational risks, and lessons on all the overarching fiduciary duties of directors are included.

Being a member of a corporate board can be a remarkably rewarding journey both professionally and personally--if you go in with the right attitude, skills, knowledge, and instincts. Claiming Your Place at the Boardroom Table takes you step by step down this exciting path to make it the most enriching experience it can be.

About the Authors

THOMAS BAKEWELL advises CEOs and boards on strategy, governance, and transformation. He is an attorney, CPA, and active faculty member for the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), with years of board service and boardroom consulting.

JAMES J. DARAZSDI, CPA, CMA, Ph.D., was the past chairman of the NACD and past CEO of Rocco, Inc. He served on more than 25 boards, including Perdue Farms, Inc., and Interstate Resources, Inc.