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 and SPAC discussions in the board room. 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…

I’ve been fortunate to serve on both Audit and Compensation committees on some excellent Boards. I shared what I’ve learned with Stephanie Forshee of Financial Times/Agenda Week Select board directors are quick to point out the positive aspects of serving on both compensation and audit committees. After all, academic research…

Some Boardroom questions are harder than others. So, the Diligent Institute assembled a virtual panel of “accomplished global board directors” to share their thinking on some of the biggest challenges in board service, good governance practices, and stickiest boardroom situations. These are the answers I gave them. …

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. …

Over the past three decades, Donna Wells has built a prolific career across various aspects of financial services and fintech. Now she’s bringing her expertise to a New York-based startup. Wells has officially joined the board of directors at Betterment, an online financial advisor that specializes in distributing clients’ funds…