Much of board education likes to zero in on technical knowledge—keeping up with regulatory updates, sharpening financial skills, risk management, and staying on top of industry trends. These are crucial, no doubt. But they're only one part of the picture. The often overlooked part is the necessary human skills...and for me, the real heart of what m…

Commentary on corporate governance commonly focuses on what is wrong or missing. The mistakes, the downfalls, the ‘bad stuff’. Admittedly, I'm not immune to this. With the world seemingly in increasing turmoil - divisive politics, endless wars, clashing ideologies… and just trying to keep up with the cost of living - it would be easy to keep focusi…

Diving into the heart of what makes or breaks the boardroom is not just a pastime for me—it's a mission. Some time ago, a few of my fellow future-focused enthusiasts and I went down a rabbit hole to talk about the most unpopular governance opinions. I thought I would reflect on and summarise the themes in the podcast. Please note. Not all of these …

Matt spends some time griping about/trolling conventional thinking on executive compensation. Originally published August 25, 2023 Matt refers to an old paper he wrote in 2013 - check it out here The Larcker/Tayan ECGI paper is hereAutor: Matt Fullbrook

A poorly executed board recruitment strategy can be the silent saboteur of a board’s success. Quality board recruitment processes are the cornerstone that ensures the right mix of expertise, experience and vision exists to govern with confidence. Unlike executive recruitment, it’s also a process that most boards only engage in occasionally, so boar…

Entrepreneur Rose Genele talks with Matt about what inclusion really means and why it may be a governance superpower. Originally published August 21, 2024Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Tech entrepreneur, Soodeh Farokhi, talks about the weirdness of corporate governance in the startup world. Originally published August 4, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

What type or style of board member are you? Are you the Stakeholder Champion, Data Chaser, Status Hound, Unprepared, or even the Narcissist? These are the types identified in a recent article from Harvard Business Review, and in another bite-sized episode from Paul, he gives you a few more to play with. Then, Paul asks how can we harmonise so many …

Yes, 100 episodes! Wow. Almost 70 hours worth of conversation about boards, directors, technology, diversity, education, careers, challenges and more. It's been a blast. To welcome us into the next century, you have a new host, Matt Fullbrook. Amongst his claims to fame he's the single most repeated guest on Paul's podcast and one of the few others…

As we near our ONE-HUNDREDTH episode, Paul shares his favourite episode of all time. It also happens to be one of the most downloaded episodes in the podcast's history. Featuring repeat offender Matt Fullbrook, alongside younger directors Nurain Janah and Hannah Stenning, this replay of Ep57 dives into why we need intergenerational diversity in the…

Lisa Oldridge explains to Matt that anti-woke capitalism is worse than a false dichotomy, among lots of other awesome bits of wisdom. Originally published July 28, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Professor Aida Sijamic Wahid chats with Matt about the potential for auditors to be WAY more useful to boards, and a bunch of other awesome governance stuff. Originally published on July 14th, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Hello, fellow governance geeks, director dorks and boardroom boffins! This special technological episode features your host Paul Smith - founder of Future Directors - chatting with the hugely popular Generative AI tool, ChatGPT 4.0. Having crowdsourced some questions from his network, Paul ask Chat questions, follow-up questions, agrees to disagree…

Another conversation with ChatGPT (in the voice of Snoop Dogg) on how boards can stay out of the weeds, among other fun governance topics. Originally published on July 7th, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

If you've ever wanted to hear Matt talk to himself about the evolution of ESG and AI in the governance space, your dreams have come true! Originally published June 30th, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

In this episode, Paul takes a backseat to his colleague Aisling Blackmore who recorded this webinar with William Rae and Elaine Crichton from Inspiring Scotland in late 2023. (Please note, there were some sound issues during this recording) Inspiring Scotland is a UK-based charity that identifies and solves problems on a national scale, working tog…

Matt talks with Andrew Escobar about turning a fish into good governance (gotta listen for it to make sense) Originally published on June 16, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Andrew Escobar is back to talk about why it's so hard for boards to be "strategic". Originally published June 9, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "skills matrix". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Jun 26, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "board diversity". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Jun 19, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Can you believe we are four episodes away from the Magic 100?!? This is a wonderful in-depth chat between two people obsessed with board governance. Jess Bulger is a proud Wiradjuri woman from Tumut in NSW, Australia. She is the CEO of the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute and Co-Chair at Outward Bound Australia. She cares deeply about ind…

Matt talks with fellow nerdy governance consultant, Jenn Fong, about what the whole point of governance consulting is in the first place. Originally published June 2, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "board composition". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Jun 12, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "nomination". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Jun 2, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Matt talks with Karim Morgan about being a board chair in the arts sector. Orginally published May 19, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "director elections". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published May 29, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "stock options". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published May 22, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Are you looking to build a board of directors from scratch or enhance your existing board composition? If so, then this episode is the one for you. This ep features a recent conversation between Paul and special guests, Rosie and Lucy Thomas from Project Rockit. A few years ago, these two sisters worked with Paul to enhance the board composition of…

Part 2 of Nate Schmold interviewing Matt Fullbrook Originally published May 12, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "executive compensation". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published May 15, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "Enterprise Risk". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published May 8, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Nate Schmold interviewing Matt Fullbrook about a bunch of nerdy corporate governance stuff. Originally published May 12, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "audit". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published May 1, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "committee chair". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published April 24, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

As we see big brand companies like Qantas and OpenAI go through what we can safely say from the outside is a bit of a ‘governance crisis’, it has brought up the need to be very clear about what is board leadership and why is it different to other leadership roles. In another bite-sized episode of Paul by himself (guests are back soon), he will give…

Another awesome conversation with Alexander & Perry from the Black Wealth Club Originally published April 28, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "board committees". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published April 17, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "management presentations". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published April 10, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

In a world of ever-evolving organisational governance, where boards serve as the nerve centre of decision-making and strategy, it is surprising how often the simple question of PURPOSE remains unanswered. Boards of directors, entrusted with steering companies through complex waters, frequently grapple with their roles, often searching for their tru…

Part 2 of Matt's conversation with Chih-Ting, a young corporate director and expert in decarbonization and innovation in mining Originally published April 21, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "pre-reads". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published April 3, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "information asymmetry". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published March 27, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

A corporate director and decarbonization expert on bringing the mining industry toward net-zero Originally published on April 14, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

In this special episode, we share a recent recording of Paul hosting a live webinar on the subject of AI, its impact on boardrooms, policies, governing and the role of board directors themselves. Is it a risk, an opportunity, or (spoiler alert) both? In this episode, Paul discusses: What is AI, Generative AI and what stage are we at?* How to develo…

The Dumpling Gang gets together again to have some snacks and talk governance Originally published April 7, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "senior executives". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Mar 20, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "overconfidence". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Mar 13, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Matt chats with one of the founders of zeck.app, a funky new way for managers to communicate with their boards Originally published March 31, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "constructive conflict". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published March 6, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook

Each week, we will release two illustrated definitions of corporate governance jargon in order of increasing complexity. In this instalment we have the definition of "consensus". Check the episode thumbnail for an illustration by Nate Schmold. Originally published Feburary 27, 2023Autor: Matt Fullbrook