83. Matching Board Members with Public Company Boards with Suzanne Brown
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaik welcome Suzanne Brown, Director of New York Stock Exchange Board Services. She shares her unique career journey from law and the nonprofit world to board placement leadership at the New York Stock Exchange. Suzanne unpacks how NYSE Board Services was created to bridge the gap between talented board-ready individuals and the NYSE companies that need them. Suzanne also explains their unique “CEO-vetted” approach, the powerful influence of the NYSE brand, and the structural components that make their board placement program...
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82. Reimagining AI Board Intelligence with Raffaela Rein
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Raffaela Rein, a seasoned entrepreneur and board member with expertise in frontier technology and innovation-driven leadership. Raffaela began her career as an analyst at BlackRock, and launched three companies for the world's largest incubator, Rocket Internet, across China, Australia, and Taiwan before becoming an entrepreneur. She serves on multiple corporate and private equity-backed boards, including Porsche, Mutares and International University IU. As the founder of WildWildVentures and CareerFoundry, she has...
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81. Building a High-Performing Board with Lynn Clarke
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Lynn Clarke, an experienced leader in family board governance who has served on more than a dozen family and private equity-backed boards including as an independent chair and lead director. Lynn is also a strategic advisor and mentor and has served on boards spanning from beverage and food services to e-commerce and manufacturing. Lynn has mentored next generation board members and leaders throughout her career and was named the Private Company Director of the Year by National Association of Corporate Directors in...
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80. Mastering Robert’s Rules of Orders with Susan Leahy
On Boards Podcast
In this episode hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Susan Leahy, the founder of Robert’s Rules Made Simple. Susan has trained and advised thousands of board members, board chairs and others on how to master Robert’s Rules of Order, to help lead and participate in productive meetings. Key Takeaways 1. History of Robert’s Rules of Order Robert’s Rules of Order is a decision making process developed in the 1800s by General Henry M. Robert, who was frustrated by disorganized meetings. Roberts created a guide, first published in 1876, which summarized and simplify...
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79. Enhancing Board Composition and Strategies for Board Leadership
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Tom Rosedale, a partner at the law firm of Nutter McClennen & Fish. Tom serves as chair of the firm’s Corporate and Transactions Department and is a member its Executive Committee. Tom has 27+ years of experience as a corporate attorney and regularly advises public and private company boards of directors in tech, life sciences and more. He has also served on the board of directors of multiple companies including Caring Cross, Vector BioMed, and AMD Global Telemedicine. The discussion with Tom...
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78. AI in the Boardroom with Andrew Sutton
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Andrew Sutton, an attorney with the law firm McLane Middleton and an expert on AI ethics and the use of AI in law. As a founding member of his firm’s AI practice group, Sutton brings his knowledge of AI to this discussion of the ethical, legal and governance aspects of AI. As AI continues to gain prominence, boards will have to consider how they can incorporate AI into companies and in the boardroom. Our discussion dives into the management of AI, implementation strategies and how to develop trust in the AI...
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77. The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Dr. Angela Jackson, founder of Future Forward Strategies, an award-winning social entrepreneur, a global C-Suite executive, and an experienced board member. She discusses the board's role in holding leadership accountable for “people strategies” and ensuring companies remain competitive in a rapidly evolving business environment. Her new book “The Win-Win Workplace: How Thriving Employees Drive Bottom-Line Success” will be published on March 11, 2025 and will be available from all major book retailers. Key Takeaways...
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76. Unlocking the value of Risk Governance and the DCRO Qualified Risk Director Program
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Lucie Claire Vincent, a global leader in consumer products and an independent board director, to discuss the vital role of risk governance in board effectiveness. Lucie Claire shares insights from her distinguished career at Fortune 100 companies, her experience as an independent director, and her work with the Directors and Chief Risk Officers Institute (DCRO). Lucie Claire also delves into the importance of earning the Qualified Risk Director (QRD) designation and the impact it has on boardroom discussions and...
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75. Marc Schneider on Empowering Entrepreneurs and Building Mission-Driven Companies
On Boards Podcast
Episode Summary In this episode of On Boards, Joe and Raza welcome Marc Schneider, an accomplished e-commerce and fintech executive with decades of experience building and scaling mission-driven companies. Marc shares his entrepreneurial journey, including his tenure as co-founder and CEO of Zebit, a transformative e-commerce and fintech platform, and his current role as an Operating Venture Partner at Ulu Ventures. The discussion dives into governance challenges in venture-backed startups, the evolution of boards from early-stage to IPO, and how founders can effectively leverage board...
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74. Navigating Board Stages of Startup Boards: Insights from Chris Cuddy, Board Chair of ezCater
On Boards Podcast
In this episode of On Boards, Chris Cuddy, a seasoned executive and board leader with over 25 years of experience growing technology-enabled companies in both the private and public sectors shares invaluable insights into the evolution of a company’s board as it progresses through different growth stages. He discusses how the board’s role shifts over time from hands-on support to formal governance. His unique perspective is informed by his extensive career, including key roles in companies like Cheapflights, Engage, and ezCater, as well as his background in consulting,...
info_outlineIn this episode of On Boards, hosts Joe Ayoub and Raza Shaikh welcome Raffaela
Rein, a seasoned entrepreneur and board member with expertise in frontier
technology and innovation-driven leadership. Raffaela began her career as an
analyst at BlackRock, and launched three companies for the world's largest
incubator, Rocket Internet, across China, Australia, and Taiwan before becoming
an entrepreneur.
She serves on multiple corporate and private equity-backed boards, including
Porsche, Mutares and International University IU. As the founder of
WildWildVentures and CareerFoundry, she has scaled startups to 120-plus
employees and advised many venture-backed businesses. Raffaela serves as a
board member for the German startup Verband, where she helps improve
legislation for startups.
Raffaela was named one of Forbes top women in tech, and she is among Europe's
most influential women in startups and venture capital. She has built a career at the
forefront of business reinvention.
Raffaela discusses her entrepreneurial journey as founder of BoardLens
a new AI tool she is developing and how it will transform the future of board
meetings and excellence in board members.
Key Takeaways
1. Board effectiveness
- Only 30% CEOs rate their boards as effective. With an expectation that
board members come to meetings well prepared, Rein recognizes that
board members are tasked with consuming hundreds, and often thousands, of pages of information in preparation for meetings. It is an almost impossible task to complete a thorough review especially if you are if you have a full time job. - In Germany, it’s common for board members to hire consultants or a ‘chief of staff’ that will help them with their board responsibilities. Raffaela is creating a tool that will serve a similar role for board members worldwide.
2. How BoardLens can transform board meetings
- Raffaela anticipates launching BoardLens in mid-2025. It is an AI driven
tool that is built to aid board members with meeting preparation,
research, executive summaries, questions and risk analysis. It is meant to
support board members while enabling members to fulfill their fiduciary
duties and make a meaningful contribution in board meetings. - Raffaela likens BoardLens to hiring a personal Goldman Sachs analyst. It
is trained with proprietary data and that will enable it to act, think and
analyze like a board director.
3. Human edge is still crucial
- While AI can process vast data and respond quickly, human directors can
provide intuition, pattern recognition, and emotional intelligence—skills
developed through lived experience that are essential in nuanced
decision-making. - As technology advances, AI is bound to replace some human roles but to
maintain the balance between AI and humans, Rein suggests thinking
about how people are able to provide a unique and individual perspective
to issues on a board’s agenda.
4. Privacy and confidentiality concerns
- Uploading board packets into non-enterprise AI tools can be a
confidentiality risk. BoardLens, however, will be trained to only read one
organization’s board materials and will not cross share data. Rein
explains that the company's IT department will be able to access the
software’s security suite.
Quotes
”Here in Germany we have this system that you can get a consultant or chief of staff who actually helps you, not just with your preparation, but also with thinking things through deeply, doing deep market research, basically doing weeks and weeks of work to help you prepare for a board meeting.”
“I don't like the word 'Copilot' for BoardLens because it feels too passive. I like the word “analyst” because if you think of a Goldman analyst, they will do their best to really make you shine and to prepare you, so you should think of it as an analyst that fights for you.”
”The breadth of expertise and the breadth of knowhow you need to have and need to gain very rapidly as a director these days is significant and has accelerated dramatically in the last five years.”
Links
raffaelarein.com
https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/governance-insights-center/library/board-
effectiveness-and-performance-improvement.html
Raffaela Rein Bio
Raffaela Rein is a seasoned entrepreneur and board member with expertise in frontier technologies and innovation-driven leadership.
She serves on multiple corporate and private equity-backed boards, including
Porsche, Mutares, and the International University IU.
As the founder of WildWildVentures and CareerFoundry, she has scaled startups to
120+ employees and advised venture-backed businesses.
Named one of Forbes’ Top Women in Tech, Capital’s 40 Under 40, and among
Europe’s most influential women in startups and VC, Raffaela has built a career at
the forefront of business reinvention and innovation driven leadership.
She began her career at BlackRock and launched three companies for Rocket
Internet across China, Australia, and Taiwan before becoming an entrepreneur.