NACD announces "long-term value creation" commission

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has announced the establishment of a Blue Ribbon Commission to investigate the board's role in driving long-term value creation. You can read the full announcement here.

Twenty-six "distinguished corporate leaders and governance experts" have been appointed as commissioners. Surprisingly, no corporate governance academics have been appointed. This begs the question of how the BRC intends to go about its work, and to conduct empirical research in particular. I hope the opportunity to investigate what value creation is—and how it is created—is not lost.

I'm in two minds about this investigation. On one hand, it confirms the profession has a serious problem: that we simply don't know how boards add value or influence performance begs the question of what directors and boards actually do. On the other hand, congratulations are due to the NACD taking the bold step of commissioning the investigation. The subject is topical (in the last six months alone, I have been party to well over 100 conversations and debates on the topic of strategy in the boardroom), to the point of being somewhat personal (the subject is at the heart of my doctoral research).

Consequently, I intend to watch developments closely especially as the commission seems to be very similar to a study undertaken last year. If asked, I will make my research findings available to the BRC.