Corporate Governance: Maximize Your Effectiveness in the Boardroom

Drive strategic directions and succeed as a board member

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Who is this program for?

The Corporate Governance: Maximize Your Effectiveness in the Boardroom program is designed to give participants a deeper understanding of corporate governance and help boost their effectiveness on a corporate board.

The program is ideal for:

  • Current board members and senior executives interested in joining a board who want to understand the various aspects of proactive governance and help drive strategic direction, risk oversight and the establishment of compensation.

  • C-suite executives looking to explore the duties and nuances of board service, help strengthen their company's financial return, enterprise risk management and governance diversity, and learn to effectively take on existing and emerging issues.

  • Attorneys engaged in legal services who are seeking to learn the fundamentals of corporate governance from a variety of angles and how to assess the effectiveness and execution of governance roles and responsibilities.

Key Takeaways

Wharton’s Corporate Governance program explores the role, structure, and responsibilities of corporate governance to help you succeed as a board member. This program will enable you to:

  • Define the board’s role and responsibilities as well as characteristics of successful board leaders

  • Ensure proactive governance and learn how to prepare for potential risks

  • Recognize key considerations of compensation and succession planning

  • Define strategies for board members, executives, and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integrators to respond to conflicting demands and societal challenges to their organization

  • Plan for how to manage the competing interests of stakeholders and shareholders

Program Modules

Program Experience

MIT Discussion Boards

Discussion Boards

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Polls

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Reflections

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Industry Examples

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Assignments

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Live Office Hours

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Try-it Activities

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Self-Study Quizzes

Industry Examples

This online program provides real-world learning examples to help you understand the realities of corporate governance in practice through the experiential lens of leading global brands.

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Apple

Analyze Apple’s board demographics to understand the value of diversity in background, experience, and skill sets.

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Disney

Understand the importance of board accountability and how a captive board can reduce oversight in governance via this example of Disney’s board being comprised of friends and acquaintances of its president, Michael Ovitz.

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Mylan

Understand the impact of non-market factors through this example of the pharmaceutical organization, Mylan.

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Starbucks

See how some companies (Starbucks,in this case) take diversity to heart and the influence that a diverse board can have.

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Wells Fargo

Recognize the impact of diversity in background, experience, and skill sets through an analysis of Wells Fargo’s board composition.

Corporate Governance Handbook

This program enables you to explore the processes and responsibilities that drive corporate governance. It also includes a handbook where you can reflect on the program content and how it can help you succeed in a board member role. Topics addressed in the handbook include:

  • Laying the groundwork: Begin by drafting your director bio and exploring the importance of marketing yourself.

  • Conducting a personal skills audit: Assess your professional background to help you understand your strengths and any critical gaps in your knowledge or experience for board positions you’re seeking.

  • Finding your director doppelganger: Focus on strategically networking with directors who possess experience/characteristic profiles that are similar to yours, as they can help point you toward boards that are looking for a candidate with your profile.

  • Demonstrating your grit: Be able to persuasively articulate your experience in crisis/adversity situations.

  • Completing a leadership style assessment: Consider how your style informs the way you would manage various stakeholders, as well as which stakeholders you’re most comfortable interacting with and/or advocating for in the boardroom.

  • Putting the pieces together: Define and characterize your personal guiding principles via a concise and effective board value statement.

Faculty

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Mary-Hunter McDonnell

Associate Professor of Management, Organizational Behavior, The Wharton School

Mary-Hunter McDonnell studies organizational behavior within challenging institutional contexts, such as contentious social environments and uncertain regulatory environments....

Guest Speaker

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Sean P. McDonnell

Partner, Mayer Brown

Sean McDonnell is a partner in Mayer Brown's Washington D.C. office and a member of the global Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice. Previously, Sean was an Assistant Unit...

Testimonials

I'm currently on a publicly traded company's board and this course and its relevance has given me the insight and confidence to be more effective in my board role.
Myron Williams
Pres. Sales Strategy & Sales Operations
The best thing about the program was the pace and clarity of content, the quizzes and the assignments. It was the best online program I've attended.
Mary Patry
PCC, IT Executive Advisor and Coach,
ITEFFECTIVITY,LLC
The course materials and videos were relevant and always insightful. I also benefitted a lot from the structure of the program in that it required you as a professional to be introspective about your ...
Collin Bailey
Senior Vice President, PMO, QA and Tech Business Office
Hudson’s Bay Company
I really enjoyed the video modules and corresponding scripts. The professors who graded the homework were insightful, posed thoughtful ideas to noodle on, and were supportive. Office hours helped a to...
Michele Love
CEO
Sunrise Brands
Certificate

Certificate

Upon successful completion of the program, you will earn a digital certificate of completion from the Wharton School.

Note: After successful completion of the online program, your verified digital certificate will be emailed to you in the name you used when registering for the program. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of the Wharton School.

FAQs

Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of our Academic Advisors or call us at +1 680 205 5118 (US) / +44 185 845 9995 (UK) / +65 3135 1422 (SG)

Early registrations are encouraged. Seats fill up quickly!

Flexible payment options available.

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