Agenda

• Thursday, March 9  •  8 AM TO 5 PM CT with a reception and dinner to follow
• Friday, March 10 • 8:30 AM TO 1:30 PM CT
• Venue: Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, IL  

This highly interactive experience is designed to help develop participants through engaging content, peer discussions and real-world case studies. Attendees will also connect and learn from the successes and challenges of other board leaders in an open, confidential environment — fully supported throughout the program by expert facilitators.

Inside the Masterclass:

Over two days of instruction, discussion, case review and group engagement, participants will focus on each of the following critical concepts:

Corporate Boards Today: Emerging Trends and Challenges. Our opening discussion delves into how an effective family business board operates, including specific challenges and opportunities. We'll also cover ways the family board interacts with owners, management and family.

The Structure of a Leading Board. Learn how effective boards leverage time and attention to ensure consistent, effective governance and strategic insights meeting after meeting.

The Culture of a Leading Board. Discover how board leaders can play a role in setting the tone and expectations for productive board debate and draw out engagement from all participants. We'll uncover how great family firm boards build appropriate communication and trust within the board, and with the family and management to create effective collaboration across the enterprise.

Panel Discussion: The Evolving Board. During this engaging session, family business board leaders will share experiences about how changing their board's structure and processes over time helped drive performance. Meet the panel:

	Greg Bush is the president, CEO and fourth generation family member of McCarthy-Bush Corporation, a 125-year-old family business with $300+ million in revenue. Now owned by the fourth and fifth generation, McCarthy-Bush's holdings include construction, mining, real estate development and steel fabrication subsidiaries. In addition to serving on the board of his own family's enterprise, Greg is a director for three family businesses: JF Brennan, The Sunrock Group and Robinson Family Management, and is the treasurer and board member of Genesis Health Systems.
	Kimberly Paxton-Hagner is the board chair of Kwik Lok Corp., the originator of the first bag closure invented by her grandfather. Along with her two sisters, Kimberly represents the third generation to own the company that now includes six factories, 300+ employees and products sold in almost 100 countries. Kimberly helped launch Kwik Lok’s “Fresh Start” corporate social responsibility initiative that includes sustainability planning, governance and a reporting system to hold itself accountable. Her family's journey was featured in Family Business Magazine.
	Peter Ruud serves on the boards of several privately-held companies and non-profit organizations and is a frequent speaker on business issues. In his role as an advisory board and governance board member, he assists business owners in focusing on long-term planning, organizational development, succession planning and other strategic issues. His current board service includes United Equipment Accessories, Lubrication Technologies, Inc., ASI doors and Nelson Container Corporation.

Developing Organizational Accountability. Board leaders have a critical role in driving accountability within the board and across the company. Participants will discuss practices for creating accountability that cascades into the management ranks and drives organizational performance.

The Board Talent Lifecycle. Boards are frequently engaged with defining needed skills, recruiting new talent, onboarding and developing directors and planning for board succession. We’ll explore all facets of board talent with tools and practices for building a pipeline of stellar future contributors.

The Board’s Role in Enterprise Risk Oversight. In a rapidly evolving risk environment, boards are working hard to keep up with emerging risks and ensure appropriate attention is paid to managing the risk landscape. This session will provide frameworks for how boards can think about risk and incorporate this area of governance into their activities effectively.

Driving Board and Enterprise Value. Our capstone session will focus on the ways that high-performing boards accelerate their impact, through increased board focus on strategic discussions, board assessments and other practices that ensure the board is delivering on its mandate for the benefit of the shareholders.

Learn from Each Other

One of the best ways to learn is from the experiences and insights of our peers. This program is designed to provide many opportunities to hear from others, through small- and large-group discussions, panel interviews, and informal networking. Attendees will also meet, mix and mingle with other participants and program faculty during a relaxing reception and dinner at the end of day one.