Who Belongs in Boardrooms? Watch the Webinar On Demand

Rethinking board composition

What combination of skill, expertise, independence and diversity makes a board truly effective? In this webinar, governance advisor Matt Fullbrook and Grace Atkinson, Partner at Watermark Search International, show that the answers aren't always clear. Conventional approaches to building boards may not work as well as they seem.

Every recruitment priority comes with trade-offs. Independence can reduce conflicts of interest but is also linked to increased corporate malfeasance. Deep technical expertise brings valuable insight but can also lead to overconfidence and errors in judgment. Building a great board means understanding this complexity and being open to unconventional directors.

 

This webinar will cover

  • What factors to boards really prize in their directors? While skills and expertise are essential to a board’s success, they are insufficient in making a director truly great. What is the secret sauce?
  • What are our blind spots when it comes to board composition? Typical approaches to building boards are rooted in assumptions that aren’t supported by real-world evidence. What are we missing?
  • How might new approaches help? If conventional board composition is missing the mark, what new ideas are worth trying and what steps should boards be taking?

WATCH THE WEBINAR

Meet your presenters

Matt Fullbrook

Matt Fullbrook is one of the most recognisable and respected voices in North American corporate governance, bringing 24 years of experience to more than 300 boardrooms, ranging from local nonprofits to multinational giants. His One Minute Governance and Ground-Up Governance platforms are designed to demystify complex governance concepts and provide new ways of thinking about common challenges.

Matt serves as an Executive in Residence at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, where he has shaped the future of governance since 2001. Previously, he directed the David & Sharon Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation. 

Matt is the director of several educational offerings for boards and executives across North America, partnering with universities and professional associations as well as providing customized training for at least 30 organizations per year.

Grace Atkinson

Grace Atkinson is a Partner, in Watermark Search International’s Interim Executive search practice. Based in Sydney, Grace specialises in Interim Executive search and placements, deploying experienced C-Suite leaders in short-term leadership roles across the Manufacturing, Industrial, Infrastructure, Property, Retail, Consumer and Sports markets.

Grace brings a wealth of experience, and has been leading executive search assignments at Board and C-Suite levels since 2010. Grace joined the interim team after 15 years conducting Board and Executive search assignments across a wide range of sectors. She is Watermark’s representative for Australia, in the WIL Group (Worldwide Interim Leadership) and collaborates globally with Partners across 27 countries.

Grace is passionate about supporting candidates at the portfolio stage of their career and regularly advises executives on the pathway to building a Board portfolio through corporate professional development programs. In 2024, Grace completed the Company Directors course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. 

When she is not in the office, Grace is juggling three kids with too many sporting interests.