The pandemic changed M&A due diligence. Some hope the shifts will bring more focus to culture. — Somewhere between 70% and 90% of merger and acquisition transactions fail, studies show, and in a year that has seen record-breaking deal activity, that adds up to a lot of potential terminations. …

There’s a significant gap between the hype and reality in achieving corporate boardroom diversity. The Ellig Group brought together a group of distinguished board members for a candid conversation about what it really take to increase U.S. boardroom diversity. Here’s their summary of our recommendations. Ellig Group and SHRM recently…

On International Women’s Day last year, a well-meaning and pretty well-known CEO sent an All Hands message to his organization, thanking each of his female relatives (including his ex-wife) for their positive influence on his life. He went on to credit them as the source of his energy and enthusiasm…

The Financial Times’ AgendaWeek had several questions about the current state of M&A discussions in the boardroom. My answers, and others’, by author Stephanie Forshee. — The impact of the pandemic is giving momentum to strategic discussions around mergers and acquisitions, according to directors and other sources. Looking ahead to 2021, research suggests that boards should anticipate an uptick in dealmaking.

The Diligent Institute asked for my thoughts on 5 key Corporate Governance Questions of 2020. I hope these early observations are helpful to others in the short-term … and as we redefine excellence in board service in the New Normal coming post-pandemic. — Diligent: How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Corporate Governance? Donna Wells: We have decided to meet with a much faster cadence. Rather than the typical quarterly board meetings interspersed with committee calls and meetings, we chose to meet monthly to make sure we were keeping up as significant new information was coming in. …

What does a board role really involve? Donna Wells, an experienced board member, shares her words of wisdom. — The importance of diversity on boards cannot be underestimated. Research shows that having female directors on boards improves the quality of deliberations and that different perspectives allow for a broader range of information to be considered. …

I was the founding CMO of Mint.com. And I just found the Excel spreadsheet I kept to track Mint.com traffic and conversion from just after our 2007 product launch until just before our 2009 Intuit acquisition. Shelter-in-place has some benefits, it seems. A lot of folks have published speculation on…

Analysis of the benefits…versus bandwidth issues…resulting from overlapping Compensation and Audit Committee membership in the US corporate boardroom. My thoughts, and others’, as captured by Stephanie Forshee. — Select board directors are quick to point out the positive aspects of serving on both compensation and audit committees. After all, academic research confirms that an overlap of compensation and audit committee members results in the company’s demonstrating a higher quality of financial reporting.

Artificial intelligence at its core is intended to make people’s lives easier and more efficient. But if a company’s technology harms users and lands the business in court, the efficiency becomes a lost cause. This is where boards need to be paying attention and asking the right questions, experts say. …