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Boardroom&Beyond Podcast

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New World, New Board

Oct 19, 2020

In this episode, Lyndsey talks with Diana Wu David, the author of Future Proof: Reinventing Work in the Age of Acceleration and is an adjunct professor of leadership at Columbia Business School's EMBA Global Asia.

Diana Wu David is the founder of Future Proof Labs in Hong Kong. She was the former Financial Times executive, and founder of the Financial Times Non-Executive Directors Diploma in Asia. Diana now works with CEOs and board directors to enhance their leadership agility, influence, collaboration and resilience. Her clients have included the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the World Bank, Expedia, Asia Development Bank, Citi and Credit Suisse. She began her career and leadership education as an assistant to Dr. Henry Kissinger.

The conversation starts with recent trend of corporate purpose. Diana explains the importance corporates to define purpose. She emphasis value driving companies allow more de-centralization decision, corporate purpose shifting from shareholder to broader base of stakeholder. She points out employee moral increase play significant roles on company resilience under extreme situation. Diana also reviews her opinion regarding the necessity of expectation adjustment from corporate and employees.

Diana also reviews the changes of board strategy, function, and behavior due to global demographics shifting, technology advancement, Global Supply Chain re-distribution, trend of globalization and nationalism, governance model innovation, and how boards need to more strategic on corporate resilience, flexibility. 

With both Lyndsey and Diana’s multi-cultural background in US and Asia, their exchanges opinion regarding recent years Asia rise and China rising, and the impact to multinational companies board structure, and board member qualification requirement. Their also reviews business practice and corporate culture changes in Asia in the past two decades due to Asia rise. 

At the end, Diana points out the importance of individuals to make personal branding, expend network, reinvent themselves and become more future proved.

Conversation Highlights (with timestamps)

  • Corporate Purpose – shifting from shareholder to stakeholder (3:50)
  • Purpose effectively enhance long term sustainability (6:41)
  • Expectation adjustment for both organizations and individuals due to company life spans duration change (9:46)
  • Global demographics changes impact to board expectation and strategy (12:01)
  • People-centered economy lead to different social mobility in Western and Asian countries (15:10)
  • Board strategy change due to global supply chain shift from “just in time” to “just in case” (17:59)
  • Board behavior and board committees function changes (21:36)
  • Board mentality shifting due to the demand of engagement and accountability to board members (25:46)
  • Board behavior differences between US organization board and Asian organization board (28:09)
  • Asia rise and corporate culture / business practice evolution in Asia (31:00)
  • Economic contribution shifting and power re-balance with Asia rise and China rise in 20 years (34:39)
  • Demand of board member background change due to nationalism trend and technology change (36:46)
  • Opportunities and challenges from governance model innovation (39:46) 
  • How board guide and steer before regulation development for cutting-edge tech companies (43:36)
  • How individuals can become future proof (45:51)

Guest Contact Information

Diana Wu David