Corporate Boards

What this episode covers

What, no snark in the title? No double entendres? No allusions to the latest mis-adventures in Washington? Has Failure - the Podcast come to its senses and, finally, done something serious? Don’t count on it! We just thought we’d try a little harder at SEO. After all, when the episode we did on real estate title insurance showed up in gardening (huh — doesn't everyone know that “A Fistful of Dirt” is an allusion to medieval law?) and the one on angel investing showed up with IVF clinics (OK, we get it. “Success Breeds Success” could be a popular search among young couples in the mock turtleneck crowd), we knew Google’s robots hadn’t figured us out. So, we decided to make this one easy for them. Just like the title says, today’s episode is about corporate boards and … get this … corporate board failure. Fancy that: truth in advertising. That should earn this episode at least a 4-star rating. The review practically writes itself: “Just as advertised. Said what it did. Did what it said.” A loquacious one might add: “I would have given it 5 stars, but NY Times’ The Daily, it ain’t.” You get the picture. Let’s just say that a certain 6’3”, preternaturally tan politico isn’t likely to mention today’s episode and “fake news” in the same sentence at his next rally. Corporate board failure. Is it possible? What do boards do, after all? If their mission is to rubber stamp the CEO, that leaves a big margin for error. You’d practically have to have sat on the board of directors to Theranos to run into trouble. Oh wait, we forgot. They didn’t get into trouble either. But, some boards do. As the Financial Times points out, boards of Google, Wynn Casinos, Signet Jewelers, Marriott and Wells Fargo have all been sued, whether in connection with failures against their charges for harassment, security breaches, or otherwise. Believe it or not, there are standards, even for corporate boards. Join the team from Failure - the Podcast as they explore the duties and failings of corporate boards with Joseph Ayoub, of Varuna Strategies. Like Ben Solo née Kylo Ren’s return from the dark side in the latest of the Star Wars saga, Joseph is a litigator turned corporate consultant, specializing in forming and fixing corporate boards. He may not wield a light sword like Kylo, but let’s just say that Joseph has found a path to board success not unlike Kylo’s wayfinder to the mythical planet Exegol. J.J. Abrams should be jealous. (Mic, we know we lost you on that last one. Get out to Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, and you’ll get it…).

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.