Boardroom INSIDER for… JULY

BI Exclusive – Elon Musk’s first SpaceX Board Meeting!

To celebrate three months since April 1, the July issue of Boardroom INSIDER offers an exclusive – leaked minutes of the first online board meeting of SpaceX as a public company… 

CALL TO ORDER/QUORUM CALL – Board Chair Elon Musk saved time on the roll call by assuring all directors that they were indeed present, and then took over online moderator privileges.

OPERATIONS UPDATE — Chairman Musk turned the meeting over to CEO Musk, who thanked the chair profusely.  The CEO offered an update on the SpaceX annual meeting, noting that the board slate and say-on-pay votes received solid 82% support.  A board member observed that this was the same level as Chairman Musk’s supermajority voting rights, but then suffered microphone problems. 

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE — CEO Musk asked Chief Technology Officer Musk for an update on pending projects.  The “blow up” rate for Starship launches has been cut considerably; the orbital test-tube baby project is progressing; and the Mars Magic Monorail joint venture with Disney is underway. In exchange, Chairman Musk said that Disney offered to share blueprints for Scrooge McDuck’s Big Money Vault.  A board member observed that said vault is fictional.  Further audio problems then occurred.

AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORT — Chairman Musk reported that a full audit committee update must wait until strictly independent board member and close buddy from PayPal days Roelof Botha takes over as committee chair.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT — Committee chair Ira Ehrenpreis noted that the pay plan for long-time friend Musk sets rigorous performance standards.  Another committee member noted that Ehrenpreis also chaired the comp committee at Tesla, which in 2018 awarded Chairman Musk a pay plan later voided by the Delaware courts.  Again, audio glitches arose.  (CTO Musk observed the company really must look into launching its own space-based board meeting portal).

BOARD EXECUTIVE SESSION – An in camera session of the SpaceX independent directors was called, but deferred due to having a quorum of zero members.  Chairman Musk then glanced out a nearby window, shouted “squirrel!” and darted off camera. Board meeting adjourned by consensus.

Also in the July issue of Boardroom INSIDER …

Building your own personal board orientation program
How to avoid board search scams
Q&A: What happens when the chair asks “any questions?” at your board meeting?

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…is an internationally-recognized writer and commentator on the role of boards of directors, the secrets of how benchmark boards excel, gaining a board seat, and the future of governance worldwide.

Ward is the publisher of the online email newsletter Boardroom INSIDER, the worldwide source for practical, first-hand advice on better boards and directors ( www.boardroominsider.com).

He is author of the books Hacking the Boardroom (2025), Board Seeker: Your Guidebook and Career Map into the Corporate Boardroom (2018), Boardroom Q&A (2011), The New Boardroom Leaders (2008), Saving the Corporate Board (2003), Improving Corporate Boards: The Boardroom INSIDER Guidebook (2000), and 21st Century Corporate Board (1997).

Ward is a certified trainer, and speaks internationally on board and governance topics, and presents a “Boardroom Masterclass” seminar worldwide, with recent programs in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.  His media appearances including CNNfn, C-SPAN, Voice of America, Bloomberg Money Show, National Public Radio, Marketplace, and CNBC (U.S. and U.K.).

Ward has also edited The Corporate Board magazine, the international journal of corporate governance, since 1990. He writes and comments on boardroom matters for a number of other publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Across the Board, Crains, Vital Speeches, the Detroit Free Press, Barrons and INC.com., and serves on several advisory and non-profit boards.