Among the key takeaways from Diligent's "The Pandemic Agenda: How Corporate Boards Are Navigating COVID-19 Challenges" - which provides insights from observations and interviews with more than 100 directors over the past ~6 weeks - are the insights about forming a COVID-19 task force or committee, as follows:
From a governance standpoint, a number of board members recommended establishing a COVID-19 task force—a dedicated committee to spearhead all aspects of the crisis response, financial and otherwise.
“It’s been a great source of advice to executives and to the board,” said Wolff. “Such a group is usually better able to think clearly and creatively on how best to adapt and react.” [Alejandro “Alex” Wolff - director of Albemarle Corporation, PG&E Corporation, JetSmart Holdings, and Frontier Airlines, and former US Ambassador to Chile and the United Nations]
The report notes that many organizations have formed a task force composed of executives and relevant department heads, and that some also include board members.
Not surprisingly, the top five board priorities that emerged from the outreach were: (i) returning-to-work issues, including employee health and safety and data privacy and cyber risks associated with virtual systems and remote work practices, (ii) financial liquidity, (iii) operations & supply chain, (iv) executive compensation, and (v) emerging stronger / resiliency.
The full report (complimentary download here) also includes links to videos, podcasts, and additional resources. Access additional resources on our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources page » Board Oversight.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!