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What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?


For over a decade, I have served on the board of directors of a non-profit organisation that raises funding to allow students from lower income families in Nepal to attend school when the costs would otherwise have been prohibitive. I have served for several years as one of the first Independent Board Directors for a private company that sells assistive equipment throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, providing guidance on overall corporate governance, risk management, succession planning, strategy, and supply chain. More recently, I joined the Board for Atlanta Technology Angels, an association of angel investors funding start-ups. I have enjoyed these experiences and the organisations have thanked me for my contributions. Based on that, I have determined that I would like to help additional companies as a Board Director. As part of that, I would like to increase my knowledge of best practices in the boardroom and have an opportunity to interact with people familiar with them. In researching organisations, attending virtual meetings, and talking to members, VAB seemed to provide both of those benefits and more! So far I have been able to connect with a number of impressive and helpful VAB members.


In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?


Independent Board Directors help companies succeed in a number of ways. If chosen correctly, they can provide a variety of perspectives, experience, and skills that complement what the company and its executives already bring to the table. This is especially true when companies look beyond their specific industry segment for board members with relevant, but not identical, backgrounds. Such efforts allow the company to benefit from past learnings across a number of industries and career paths. In addition, the right Board Directors can share much needed knowledge on the many new challenges companies are now facing (such as ESG, cybersecurity, supply chain risk, etc.), but that they may not have expertise in.


What would be your dream company/organization to work with as a board advisor/NED?


Based on my background and experience, I can best assist companies that design, manufacture, assemble, distribute, or sell products (although I surprised myself earlier this year by providing an app startup company guidance which the founder liked so much that he pivoted the company’s focus!). A dream company would be a growing business with lots of opportunities and the accompanying challenges to address. The ability to help such a company through their global operational and risk management decision-making would especially appeal to me.

What book would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate

governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?


I have educated myself a lot in order to improve my knowledge of company governance and effective board operations. I would like to recommend two books, written in different styles. In Claiming Your Place at the Boardroom Table: The Essential Handbook for Excellence in Governance and Effective Directorship, Thomas Bakewell and James Darazsoi write about the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of a board director. Betsy Atkins’ Be Board Ready: The Secrets to Landing A Board Seat and Being a Great Director also provides a lot of useful information and I particularly like the case studies.


Follow Steven Lustig on LinkedIn.





What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?

I was appointed as a Non-Executive Director (NED) for a UK group of companies serving the automotive sector. Whilst I knew I was capable and could confidently deliver on the requirements of the engagement, I also knew very clearly from the onset that there was a gap in my knowledge. Especially on the issue of Board dynamics, governance and legal structures, how to navigate conflicting agendas at Board level, and mostly how to set clear objectives for serving Chair and CEO needs. I am an advocate of peer-to-peer learning, and the VAB member community is truly an exceptional bunch of people. These two factors inspired me to join.


In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?

It really is about the objectives set and whether the Board Advisor can affect the change required. It is a matchmaking exercise. Yet of equal importance is the ability of the advisory board to provide counsel that goes beyond day-to-day operational needs. I know this is a convenient way to divide responsibilities. However, I think that in complex times, which is now the new normal, the Advisory Board should focus on the future tense and the Board of Directors on the present tense. An impressive group of advisors adds additional levels of credibility, reach, and reputation to the business. This is something external stakeholders will find compelling.

What would be your dream company/organization to work with as a board advisor/NED?

Excellent question! I am a values-driven person, so I would want to advise a company that has a proven track record of being ethical; one with a commitment to sustainable practice and which is entrepreneurial in its management structure and strategic planning. In this next century, your organisational structure is your strategic framework. Please read that again. We now need to be fluid and agile due to the ever-shifting nature of economics, risk and politics.

The industries I am drawn to include consulting, media and entertainment. However, more important for me is working with a leadership team that has a philosophy I agree with. I am inspired by positive leadership: organisations that focus on what is right in a person, team, market or industry. They need to do a little bit of scenario planning for when things do not work out!

What book would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?

This will be a stretch for most of my fellow VAB members; I know it is a challenge for me as well. Yet I would recommend The Arthashastra by Kautilya; the Penguin Classics version. You will need to be selective with what you choose to read from the book, as there is much that is irrelevant to the context we are discussing. Yet it was written by an individual, or group of individuals, to provide counsel to a Monarch, CEO, or Board Chair. It is a book that advises at the most profound levels, still it is detailed and contains a healthy dose of cynicism. It rivals, and is more comprehensive than, The Art of War by Sun-Tzu and The Book of Five Rings by Musashi. Topics covered include how leaders should compose and conduct themselves, how to manage an organisation, how to devise and execute on strategy, how to gather and use intelligence, governance and conflict resolution, et al. If you pick it up and start to read it, give me a shout, we can swap notes!


Follow Deva Naidu on LinkedIn.



Image Credits: Getty

At VAB, we recognise our community is diverse: in terms of geography, board-level experience, professional experience, etc. So, as you enter 2023 with us, you have the opportunity to take part in a wide array of activities that best fit your current needs. These different styles of meetings, training sessions and networking and/or connecting opportunities will help you get the most from the knowledge, insights and skills amassed in our community of 500+ members. So let’s look at how we structure audiences for VAB services and activities and how you can best benefit from them.

Where do I fit in as a VAB member?

This is a question you may have asked yourself in the past, or perhaps as a new member you have posed this query now as you try to navigate and understand our wide array of services. Our traditional breakdown of member types (and please bear in mind each member’s board journey is different, so you might not fit a specific category or you may find yourself somewhere in between) is as follows, but please bear in mind that all members are encouraged to take advantages of all the services we offer:

You’re Board curious: This means you’re a member who is perhaps still in an executive role and you have extensive leadership experience. Yet you’re interested in what types of board or board advisor roles you might be able to take on. You’re curious about what board operations are like, how do meetings work and play out, how could you possibility contribute in a board, board advisor or NED capacity? In this case, some of the best VAB activities for you include our VAB Academy (a series of deep-dive MasterClasses led by our VAB Chair Mark Hamill, along with guest board experts, that focus on teaching specific board-related skills in each instalment). Or you can join a VAB webinar. These events give you insights into current trends and allow you to learn from, and pose questions to, board-level experts. In addition to those learning activities, you will also want to take advantage of our connecting opportunities. Join one of our small-group VAB CONNECT! session where you can get to know your fellow members in a more intimate setting and discuss topics that are timely for today’s board leaders.


You’re a Board learner: This member group usually includes members with some initial degree of board knowledge. Perhaps you have recently left an executive position and you may have served on board for an NGO or a not-for-profit group, or even done some informal advising for start-ups. In this case, you’re ready to hit the ground running as you engage with the VAB community. Perhaps you want to spread the word that you’re Open to Board Roles/Work as the LinkedIn jingo goes. So you can leverage our newsletter VAB News to share your own thought leadership content or also articles that we help you develop. You will definitely want to join our VAB Academy sessions at times, but you may also be ready to sign up for a VAB Board Tribe group. You can always consult with David and the VAB team to gauge your readiness for this service. Plus, in your board learner phase, you can use our other tools to share your insights and also contribute to VAB’s knowledge- and leads-sharing structures. Check out our VAB Speed Connect! meetings and learn how you can trade tips and leads on board and business opportunities through these member-to-member conversations. Also, join our Needs-and-Leads group on Telegram so that you follow and respond to the opportunities we list there on a daily to weekly basis. Finally, make use of VAB’s ever-growing VAB partner ecosystem. Our partners offer a number of services for participants across varied levels of board-readiness and expertise that help you learn and grow in your ability to serve impactfully on boards. Explore our partner listing here to learn more.


You’re Board ready: Many members of our community have extensive board or NED experience and VAB provides them opportunities to find new assignments or board-level challenges. Members in this group really help enrich the VAB experience for their fellow VAB colleagues as they often lead our VAB webinars, our Board Tribe groups and our VAB CONNECT! sessions. They contribute, in lecturer roles, to providing content for our VAB Academy programme. You will find their expert articles in VAB News and some of them are active in businesses that provide trainings and teachings via the VAB partner ecosystem. Still, they also #connect, #learn and #network in VAB through active participation in our Advisory Board Network (ABAN) structures (available to members with any level of board experience) and by helping in local and regional leadership roles. Specifically, our VAB Face-2-Face meetings provide an opportunity for our board-ready members to shine and lead these popular networking events. And, of course, our Needs & Leads service and VAB Connex member-to-member contact-building programme enable them to gain access to targeted, future board member, board advisor and NED roles.

How to get BANG for your buck from your VAB investment! Follow some of these tips:

  • Network: explore the community, do planned outreach (do a 1:1 member meet each week);

  • Connect: be vocal about your needs and wants - sign up to Needs & Leads, join a CONNECT! session and tell members where you are in your board journey and what support you need. Also, don’t forget to let other members know how you can support them;

  • Connect/Network: use VAB’s copywriting services - contribute articles, do the new member Q&A, etc. Use expert commentary to show the board world your knowledge and skills. And post and share this information on LinkedIn.

  • Network: leverage VAB’s partner ecosystem (use our partners’ discounted services and access to their events to expand further your board search network);

  • Learn: VAB has an amazing collection of resources (both VAB-designed and partner-owned), use these tools (all of them stored on our LinkTree page) to build your board-level knowledge and skills.

Remember! The bulk of our VAB services and opportunities are member-driven. You get out of our community as much as you’re willing to put in. So please don’t hesitate to contact your member experience manager (MEM) or anyone you know in our team. We will point you in the right direction service and event-wise and do our best to help you thrive from your VAB experience.


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