As we ramp up for The Private Company Governance Summit 2026, which will take place June 10-12 in Washington, D.C., we are speaking to our panelists to get a bit of insight on the topics they will be discussing at the event. Today, we speak with Zachary Seely, fifth-generation member of the Huber family and director of J.M. Huber Corporation, about the subject matter of “Who Belongs on Today’s Family and Private Company Board?,” the session he will be participating in at PCGS 2026.
PCD: What mechanisms (formal or informal) should boards use to continuously assess whether their composition is keeping pace with strategy?
Seely: Boards often frame this question too narrowly, asking only whether director skills map to current company strategy. That’s certainly a necessary starting point, but I think it misses half the picture. Composition really needs to keep pace with two parallel tracks: where the business is heading and the evolving demographics, priorities and expectations of the shareholders themselves.
On the strategy side, a formal annual skills matrix has been one of the most useful tools I’ve seen in practice. When done thoughtfully — mapping each director’s depth across relevant functions, geographies, business models and industries — it creates an honest, fact-based picture of where the board is well-covered and where gaps may be quietly forming. The important thing is anchoring it to the forward-looking dimensions of strategy, not just where the company has been. If you’re exploring new markets, a potential liquidity event or a digital transformation, the matrix should be surfacing those capability needs before they become urgent.
That said, the matrix alone can anchor you to the status quo. That’s where the shareholder dimension comes in, and it’s one I think gets underweighted in most governance conversations. On the Huber board, having directors who span a wide age range, for example — from nonvoting members in their twenties and thirties to more seasoned independent directors — has made a genuine difference. It builds trust and credibility across generations of family members and it helps ensure we’re shaping strategy for the world as it’s becoming, not just protecting what worked in the past.
A few informal mechanisms matter, too, and I’d encourage boards not to underestimate them: candid one-on-one conversations between the chair and individual directors, periodic third-party assessments that create space for honest feedback, and an ongoing dialogue with the shareholder group about what they actually need from governance.
The aspiration is a board that stays slightly ahead of the company, not one that’s always catching up.
To hear more from Zachary Seely, register today for The Private Company Governance Summit 2026.