Podcast Directory
| Podcast title | VC-IO - Governance Series
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| http://www.vc-io.com/ | ||
| Description | How and why are VC boards different from other boards? What are some of the common problems faced by VC-backed company boards? Are there early warning signs of trouble in the board room? What are some of the signs of effective and ineffective venture boards and directors? VC-InsideOut tackles these and other important governance questions head-on in this series of interviews and editorial commentary on the state of VC boards. Each episode makes clear recommendations about best practices that can be useful to VCs and entrepreneurs in the field. Levensohn Venture Partners proactively advocates best practices in governance and has published groundbreaking articles on the subject since 1999. Two well known collaborative white papers on VC governance topics - "After the Term Sheet: How Venture Boards Impact the Success or Failure of Technology Companies" and "Rites of Passage: Managing CEO Transition in Venture Backed Technology Companies" are freely available for download on the Levensohn Venture Partners website at http://www.levp.com/news/ | |
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| Category | Technology |
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Episodes |
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1. Episode 1 - Six Early Warning Signs download (audio/mp3, 12.67Mb) Description: Pascal Levensohn comments about the recent Hewlett Packard boardroom scandal and relates the communication problems faced by mature company boards that cannot agree on maintaining confidentiality to the miscommunication that underlies many board problems in early stage venture-backed companies. |
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2. Episode 2 - Achieving Investor Alignment in the VC Boardroom download (audio/mp3, 3.07Mb) Description: Kip Sheeline of LVP interviews Kevin Compton of KPCB on venture board alignment issues. Kevin thoughtfully and candidly discusses his decision making process when evaluating competing term sheets with different economic terms, how he values human capital compared to dollars in the boardroom, and how he addresses conflicts of interest posed by co-investors with differing risk profiles. |
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3. Episode 3 - Public Company Lessons for VC Directors download (audio/mp3, 3.43Mb) Description: Pascal Levensohn interviews Pastora San Juan Cafferty, professor emerita of the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago. She serves on the board of directors of the Kimberly Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), Waste Management Inc. (NYSE:WMX), Peoples Energy (NYSE:PGL) and Harris Financial as well as on the board of Rush University Medical Center and The Lyric Opera of Chicago. Focusing on the roles of compensation and audit committees, Pastora discusses changes in board leadership and composition post SarbOx, her thoughts on the stock options back-dating scandal, and the importance of CEO performance evaluations. |
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4. Episode 4 - Benchmarking Internal Controls in Venture Companies download (audio/mp3, 3.21Mb) Description: Pascal Levensohn interviews Leinani Nakamura and Kathy Hunter, who are both professionals at the accounting firm of Mohler, Nixon & Williams. They discuss the need for effective internal controls inside emerging venture companies and why all VC company directors need to consider having proper diagnostic processes in place. The podcast concludes with comments on the PCAOB's forthcoming revisions to Sarbanes Oxley's Section 404 reporting standards. |
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5. Episode 5 - Basic VC Company Director Responsibilities download (audio/mp3, 3.47Mb) Description: Pascal Levensohn reviews some of the key findings in "A Simple Guide to the Basic Responsibilities of VC-Backed Company Directors", the collaborative VC board governance white paper which was released by the Working Group on Director Accountability and Board Effectiveness in January 2007. Pascal also previews some of the updates to the Guide which will be released later this year in "A Simple Guide... v2.0". Topics discussed include the director's legal duty of oversight, signs of effective and ineffective boards, CEO review, director self assessment, and the delicate subject of board peer review. |
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6. Episode 6 - The Governance Gap - Why VC Companies Should Care download (audio/mp3, 3.04Mb) Description: While younger private companies are not under the same regulatory scrutiny as public companies, the state law requirements apply, and many of the same elements of a sound governance program also apply equally to these companies. Kris Veaco explains the elements of a sound governance program for VC-backed companies and why they are important to have in place. |
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7. Episode 7 - Best Practices for The High-Performance Board download (audio/mp3, 21.18Mb) Description: Building an effective Board is paramount to building a strong company. The panel discusses the best practices for building a high performance Board. The group explains why boards matter, the sources of conflict and tools for conflict resolution, the importance of CEO evaluation and other related topics. Recorded on October 30, 2008 and held at the Pillsbury Law firm in Palo Alto, CA, this podcast runs 92 minutes. |
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