Private Company Director’s Directors to Watch 2026 highlights 29 significant and diverse directors who have contributed to and will continue to expand ongoing dialogue on board best practices and corporate governance excellence.
Laura Juarez
Top Notch Distributors Inc., Excab Inc.
Laura Juarez is a privately held business executive and governance advisor with CEO, chief operating officer and chief human resources officer experience, as well as deep expertise in multigenerational family and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) enterprises. She serves on two private company boards, Top Notch Distributors and ExCab. She is human capital committee chair of both boards. Juarez previously served as director and chair of the L.E. Smith Company and as director, chair and compensation committee chair of Bostwick-Braun. She has chaired two ad hoc CEO succession committees. Her governance work spans ESOP oversight, strategy resets, digital strategy, cultural reinvention, acquisitions and family business continuity. She also brings extensive nonprofit board experience, serving her communities through multiple directorships. As a director, she is known for helping boards challenge the status quo and translate vision and values into clear strategic and governance decisions.
Strategic coherence matters. “In a world of increasing volatility and complexity, boards play an essential role in governing the strategic decisions that drive durable value for stakeholders. Governance excellence depends on a board’s ability to draw insight from business data, ecosystem signals and market intelligence to surface where untapped value exists and which organizational constraints limit it. High-performing boards balance thoughtful inquiry, constructive challenge and deep trust to hold leadership accountable for strategic coherence, ensuring strategy, values and resource allocation remain aligned with the enterprise’s long-term direction and commitments to its stakeholders.”