Relevance is key. One’s expertise, knowledge, and career experiences should be relevant and applicable to the company’s business strategy. I was involved with a company founded in the produce sector which later transformed itself into a healthcare and private equity business. Sadly, many of the directors came from the produce industry, with little knowledge of or expertise in the new business model, rendering the board less effective. Relevant skill sets and corporate strategy should be aligned for directors to contribute not only from the perspective of their professional specialization, such as financial, legal, or operational, but also from a holistic perspective, looking at how their contributions will make the company’s overall strategy fit for the future. Relevance and alignment matter if we are to be counted.
SHAPE THE FUTURE
What does it take for a director to move from merely “filling a board seat” to truly shaping the future of the company?
3
cari dominguez
When joining a new board,
'sit on your hands' by observing the culture, tempo, and dynamics of the boardroom to ensure your first contributions are effective.
Three POWERFUL INSIGHTS to SHAPE Your Boardroom Future
STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM WITH LAURA BARNES WITH THREE INSIGHTS
About the Board Perspectives Series: Guided by our motto — Step into the boardroom. Shape the future. — we ask three signature questions that uncover lessons from the past, practical wisdom for the present, and a vision for the future.
LAURA BARNES is a strategic senior banking executive and board leader with a disciplined, enterprise-focused approach to governance. She brings broad industry experience and strong stakeholder insight to drive performance, strengthen risk oversight, and support long-term value creation.
Laura has served in multiple board roles, including Chair of one organization, where she led CEO succession and key governance initiatives. Recognized for uniting leaders around complex issues, she elevates boardroom dialogue and advances decisions rooted in innovation, accountability, and operational excellence.
LAURA BARNES is a strategic senior banking executive and board leader with a disciplined, enterprise-focused approach to governance. She brings broad industry experience and strong stakeholder insight to drive performance, strengthen risk oversight, and support long-term value creation.
Laura has served in multiple board roles, including Chair of one organization, where she led CEO succession and key governance initiatives. Recognized for uniting leaders around complex issues, she elevates boardroom dialogue and advances decisions rooted in innovation, accountability, and operational excellence.
STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM WITH LAURA BARNES WITH THREE INSIGHTS
About the Board Perspectives Series: Guided by our motto — Step into the boardroom. Shape the future. — we ask three signature questions that uncover lessons from the past, practical wisdom for the present, and a vision for the future.
STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM WITH
CARI DOMINGUEZ WITH THREE INSIGHTS
About the Board Perspectives Series: Guided by our motto — Step into the boardroom. Shape the future. — we ask three signature questions that uncover lessons from the past, practical wisdom for the present, and a vision for the future.
Cari Dominguez is a seasoned board leader nationally recognized for her expertise in public policy, workforce strategy, and corporate governance. She created and led the U.S. Department of Labor’s Glass Ceiling Initiative, advancing the removal of barriers affecting the progression of women and underrepresented groups. She currently serves as a director and trustee of Calvert Funds and recently retired as Lead Director of Triple-S Management Corporation. She has also served on the boards of ManpowerGroup and Circa. A former national board member of NACD, she now serves on its Board Advisory Services faculty and is a founding member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association.
Cari Dominguez is a seasoned board leader nationally recognized for her expertise in public policy, workforce strategy, and corporate governance. She created and led the U.S. Department of Labor’s Glass Ceiling Initiative, advancing the removal of barriers affecting the progression of women and underrepresented groups. She currently serves as a director and trustee of Calvert Funds and recently retired as Lead Director of Triple-S Management Corporation. She has also served on the boards of ManpowerGroup and Circa. A former national board member of NACD, she now serves on its Board Advisory Services faculty and is a founding member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association.
STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM WITH CARI DOMINGUEZ WITH THREE INSIGHTS
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
1
If you could go back to earlier in your career, what advice would you give yourself — and other aspiring executives — on how to position for board service?
When I joined my first board, I was advised to “sit on my hands”, to observe and listen before jumping right in. Observe the culture, the tempo, and the dynamics going on in that boardroom, and then assess how to be effective and contribute under that framework. Boards are slow to change, and there is a lot that goes on outside of the formal board meetings that a new director is not privy to. While we tend to generalize all companies under categories such as “publicly-traded”, “privately-held”, or “family-owned”, each company is unique in terms of its own culture, board-management relations, and expected behaviors. I didn’t take the advice to mean not to participate; rather, to be perceptive and move cautiously. A missed step early on can form first impressions that are difficult to overcome.
I would advise myself and others to invest more time and effort in governance education and in the development of a continuous education strategy. The accelerated pace and dramatic scale of business changes require both aspiring and established directors to keep up with the shifting trends. There is so much going on! Whether artificial intelligence, tariffs, wars, investor pressures for short-term returns, activism, changing regulations, or the reinvention of business models, to be effective in the boardroom we need to stay informed and prepared to address these trends. This can only be accomplished by combining one’s knowledge, expertise, and experiences with the learnings and teachings that are driving innovation, decision-making, and board effectiveness.
STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM
What is the best advice you’ve received about how to be an effective board director – Advice that even today you carry with you to every board meeting?
2
About the Board Perspectives Series: Guided by our motto — Step into the boardroom. Shape the future. — we ask three signature questions that uncover lessons from the past, practical wisdom for the present, and a vision for the future.
Board Perspectives
STEP INTO THE BOARDROOM
2
What is the best advice you’ve received about how to be an effective board director – Advice that even today you carry with you to every board meeting?
I would advise myself and others to invest more time and effort in governance education and in the development of a continuous education strategy. The accelerated pace and dramatic scale of business changes require both aspiring and established directors to keep up with the shifting trends. There is so much going on! Whether artificial intelligence, tariffs, wars, investor pressures for short-term returns, activism, changing regulations, or the reinvention of business models, to be effective in the boardroom we need to stay informed and prepared to address these trends. This can only be accomplished by combining one’s knowledge, expertise, and experiences with the learnings and teachings that are driving innovation, decision-making, and board effectiveness.
SHAPE THE FUTURE
3
What does it take for a director to move from merely “filling a board seat” to truly shaping the future of the company?
Relevance is key. One’s expertise, knowledge, and career experiences should be relevant and applicable to the company’s business strategy. I was involved with a company founded in the produce sector which later transformed itself into a healthcare and private equity business. Sadly, many of the directors came from the produce industry, with little knowledge of or expertise in the new business model, rendering the board less effective. Relevant skill sets and corporate strategy should be aligned for directors to contribute not only from the perspective of their professional specialization, such as financial, legal, or operational, but also from a holistic perspective, looking at how their contributions will make the company’s overall strategy fit for the future. Relevance and alignment matter if we are to be counted.
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