There's a particular kind of energy in a founder's first pitch meeting — the conviction that the future is already decided and it's just a matter of building toward it fast enough. Walk into most boardrooms a decade later and that energy is often gone. What replaces it is something more careful, more procedural, more focused on protecting what already exists than imagining what could exist next. We don't think this is a coincidence and we don't think it's entirely a bad thing

Board composition practices, governance requirements and market expectations vary by jurisdiction and company. Boards should assess their composition against their organization's strategy, risk profile, regulatory environment and applicable governance requirements.