Boardroom INSIDER for… APRIL

USE PROXY SEASON 2026 TO PITCH YOUR BOARD

For proxy season in most of the world, public companies are busy crafting disclosures, filings, annual reports and shareholder meetings that combine both legal compliance and investor relations storytelling.  Less covered, but now increasingly vital, is smart marketing on the company’s board of directors and its governance.

In the April issue of online monthly Boardroom INSIDER, publisher Ralph Ward notes that a basic “skills matrix” of board members has become a proxy must.  But “this is only a first step in sending a message that your board and its operations are fit for purpose.

Ward writes that touches like a separate shareholder letter from the board chair; deeper dives on board skills and outside commitments; and info on how the board monitors hot topics like AI and risk boost investor confidence. “Don’t use proxy season just to communicate on your board… make it an opportunity to sell them.”

Also in the April issue of Boardroom INSIDER …

Board reporting dashboards – a great tool…but
Don’t miss these risks in your proxy disclosures
Q&A: It’s our first outside board evaluation (should we be scared?)

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Ralph Ward’s new book…

Hacking the Boardroom (Taylor & Francis) is the lifesaver every director needs today.  This is the intelligence that boards must have to do a better oversight job, in less time, with less effort, and fewer legal dangers.  Proven “how to” insights from front-line board members, CEOs, corporate staffers, top consultants and legal advisors.  Corporations, nonprofits, government enterprises… any organization where directors are battling 21^st Century governance realities will learn from the hacks in this “owner’s manual for the boardroom.”

Visit the Hacking the Boardroom site today!

NEW – the audio version of Hacking the Boardroom now on Audible!

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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.