Jonathan Foster: On Boards and the Playbook for Modern Governance

Aug 25, 2025

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(0:00) Intro

(1:27) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel

(2:13) Start of interview

(2:51) Jonathan's origin story

(4:23) His Journey into Governance, initially via accounting with PwC and later with Lazard.

(6:17) Types of Governance Structures

(7:51) About his firm Current Capital Partners (M&A advisory, corporate management services, and PE investing).

(8:31) The Inspiration Behind his book On Boards: The Modern Playbook for Corporate Governance.

(10:44) Interviews that Shaped the Narrative. His standout: Admiral Michael Mullen.

(13:04) Target Audience for the Book

(14:48) The importance of "boards [with a roster of] best athletes, not experts in a narrow area."

(17:04) His personal journey into boardrooms

(19:56) Experience as an Expert Witness

(21:41) Evolution of Delaware's Corporate Law. *Reference to Moelis case and Tesla's Elon Musk CEO compensation case.

(24:40) AI's Impact on the Boardroom. "[I]t is critical to remember that directors oversee, but management runs the company day to day."

(29:50) Navigating Geopolitical Challenges

(32:01) The Rise of Shareholder Activism

(34:29) Insights on Corporate Restructuring *Reference to E38 on the rise of bankruptcy directors with Jared Ellias (now at HLS)

(38:33) Separation of Chair and CEO is preferable

(39:00) "I think term-limits are a cop-out" there should be annual individual director evaluations.

(39:43) The Need for Corporate Director Licenses.

(41:36) Books that have greatly influenced his life:

On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors, by Patrick J. Wright (1979)
The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe (1979)
The House of Morgan, by Ron Chernow (1990)

(42:30) His mentors

(43:18) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by: "You can't get a hit if you don't swing the bat" "I'm dumb enough to make a decision"
"It's all about tomorrow" "Have fun, life is too short"

(44:24) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves.

(45:31) The living person he most admires: the Pope and Lebron James.

Jonathan Foster is an experienced corporate director, investment banker, and expert witness in corporate litigation, and the author of the new book On Boards: The Modern Playbook for Corporate Governance. He has served on more than 50 boards, including Fortune 500 companies, private companies and companies involved in restructurings.

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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License