For publicly traded companies, the board’s primary responsibility is often defined as the hiring and firing of the CEO. In privately held companies, the CEO is often a major shareholder, a family member or perhaps the founder of the business, which makes the relationship with the board more complicated. But in each case, communication is vital in cultivating a healthy and productive relationship between the board and the CEO.

Meghan Juday was appointed chairman of IDEAL Industries in February 2020. A few months before, the company had welcomed a new non-family CEO. A month later, it faced the global pandemic. And now, it’s dealing with a year of “insane growth.” As she faced these issues, she wondered if other women board chairs might be able to offer her support and advice. She found a curious statistic.

Christie Hefner’s start in corporate governance was somewhat unusual. While most directors begin on a nonprofit or private company board, she became chairman of the board and CEO of the publicly traded Playboy Enterprises in 1988. The company had been founded by her father, Hugh Hefner. She remained in the post for 20 years.

Risk management oversight is one of the most important roles of the board. The board must have processes and policies in place before a problem arises and the CEO needs immediate guidance.

MacLean-Fogg has annual revenues of more than $1 billion and a professional, majority independent fiduciary board, but there are still governance moments that are genuinely personal. That’s when the owners and the board strike a balance so both can be successful.

Strong corporate governance can steady any company, whether a 160-year-old agribusiness or a 16-year-old bank.

In 2009, foreseeing difficult economic times, the leadership of Ulteig decided that independent experience on the board would help the company navigate the future. For the first time, independent directors were brought onto the board of the employee-owned engineering consulting company that has 13 offices across the country.

Is your organization thinking about forming a board for the first time? As a potential board candidate, are you considering whether to join an advisory board or a “real” (fiduciary) board? Having served on both types, I have come to appreciate that choosing the board type is really an issue of situational needs and best fit from both a company and a candidate perspective.

More than 18 months into the COVID-19 era, with uncertainties looming around the future course of virus variants, priorities for private company boards have shifted significantly and seem more aligned than ever with their public company peers.