Who’s Who in VAB – Get to know our VAB member, James Bonar

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

I was drawn to VAB because of the quality networking it offers. Members have the chance to connect with seasoned business leaders at the Board and C-Suite levels and use their VAB network to scout prospects for future board positions. Having worked in business consulting and multiple leadership roles over the years, I am also intrigued by opportunities for cooperation, perhaps a commercial partnership, between VAB and the company I lead called the Bonar Institute for Purposeful Leadership. I believe this cooperation could open new opportunities for VAB members as they advance on their board journeys.

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

I think the biggest benefit advisors offer is through their position as experienced, confidential, and trusted third-party sounding boards. Advisors can speak truth to power (in a professional manner) and provide practical and actionable insights when and where needed. It is always important to have the perspective of talented experts who are not involved in a business’ day-to-day operations and who can see perhaps what the organisation truly needs from a strategy perspective as opposed to what its leaders might think it needs.

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

It would be a forward-thinking, high-growth company with a global reach. I love advising and working with businesses committed to optimising their executive talent through purpose. We define purposeful leadership as a moral choice which principled executives make to achieve something greater than themselves and the companies that they lead. Our multidisciplinary team of expert strategic advisors, trainers, executive coaches, and mentors offer practical and impactful advisements, customized courses, and curriculum-based training across North America and beyond.

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?

When it comes to Board Governance, I would definitely recommend The Handbook of Board Governance: A Comprehensive Guide for Public, Private, and Not-for-Private Board Members by Richard Leblanc (Editor). Its 3rd edition will be published soon. Plus, I plan to read Clarke Murphy’s book, Sustainable Leadership: Lessons of Vision, Courage and Grit from CEOs Who Dared to Build a Better World. The author spoke convincingly at a recent VAB virtual event in Brussels on how to elevate corporate leadership skills. His book is at the top of my reading list.

Follow James Bonar on LinkedIn.

Published in VAB News, Issue 3 – March 2023

Who’s Who in VAB – Get to know our VAB member, Aman Merchant

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

I'd say there are 3 key factors: 1) the vision and enthusiasm of the co-founders Mark & David in building an intimate focused community that integrates members across YPO, EO & CEO organisations. This helps bring an incredible amount of collective intelligence in one 'room'; 2) the breadth, flexibility and diversity of the learning and networking experiences offered by VAB, along with its ambition to add a hybrid layer to the overall journey of becoming a board advisor or NED; and 3) for my own self-realisation so that I function better as a provocateur and catalyst at the C-level instead of being just an operator-manager. I appreciate how VAB connects me with a tribe of global leaders who share a similar ambition for building their board careers.

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

Building on what I said above, I believe the next generation of sought-after, trusted board advisors will be ones who can bring in not just the 'usual' benefits. This means moving beyond just delivering independent as well as expert thinking from past experiences; rather these are people who can truly provoke a new type of thinking in the board and executive teams. This is thinking that initially helps drive self-awareness of potential biases in incumbent mindsets and then sparks a new type of assessment that has come to be known as systems thinking - one that helps overcome barriers and assumptions about what is possible in a given sector. It helps intersect and potentially integrate ideas and insights from other sectors that are likely to disrupt how organisations operate in the said field. With the complexities faced in our current world, often referred to as 'wicked problems', this type of thinking requires one to explore what's happening at the 'edges' of these intersections. Based on my 25+ years of professional experience, I've seen that organisations driven by bold leaders increasingly want to explore these new frontiers through advisors.

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

Keeping in mind my experience around education, innovation and impact (and built on a foundation of lifelong service to entrepreneurship), I would love to collaborate with bold leaders and organisations in education, climate & food systems. Here, I mean not just at the academic stakeholders level, but also those engaging at the country or multi-lateral levels who look to drive transformation in line with global goals (such as SDGs - sustainable development goals) as well as sector specific challenges around financing, data, effectiveness & policy. With my entrepreneurial background, working with start-ups focused on impact, as well as future-focused government and innovation agencies looking to build new types of entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems in their domains, would be amazing as well.

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?

One of my favourites is Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Building strong team dynamics with True North alignment is critical in any organisational unit, let alone the board, and this book is a wonderful read explaining that process. Being a bit provocative, I would also recommend reading The Art of Impossible by Steven Kotler. His book focuses on how humans can access high performance on demand in the same ways that captivate us when we watch elite athletes, musicians and other performers. While not a book on communication per se, it can help executive teams and boards decode what high performance is all about. It can also enable them to build new mindsets and habits to drive their organisations to the next level. Teaching a course around this in my adjunct faculty role at New York University, I can fully vouch for the results that follow.

Follow Aman Merchant on LinkedIn.

Published in VAB News, Issue 3 – March 2023

Who’s Who in VAB – Get to know our VAB member, Deva Naidu

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.

Published in VAB News, Issue 2 – February 2023