Joe Hurd: Governance in Times of VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity)

(0:00) Intro (1:26) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:13) Start of interview (2:45) Joe's origin story (4:07) His early career starting in London, with law firm Linklaters.  (6:43) His move to Friendster in Silicon Valley. (8:00) His time at Videoegg. (9:24) His time at the International Trade Administration in the Obama Administration. (11:30) His return to private practice with Gannett and Facebook's emerging products. (13:10) His operating role at SOSV, a global venture capital firm (2019-present) (15:10) How he got started with his board service. First board experience: a UK public company called GoCompare. (16:50) Difference between a "good" and a "great" director.  (18:34) Distinguishing the concept of overboarding between public and private VC-backed companies. Reference to VCBA (5/14/25) (21:06) Some differences between U.S. and U.K. governance practices. (24:57) On the increasing politicization of corporate governance, including ESG and DEI (plus boardroom diversity). "Let's bend it, not end it." (27:47) The origin story of the bio books that he compiles. (31:07) On the impact of AI in the boardroom. Boards need to 1) move faster on AI, and 2) focus on the transformation, not only the tech. (35:50) On navigating in VUCA times (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity). "Act proactively, not reactively" (38:18) Challenges for boards in next 5-10 years: 1) time management and 2) increasing focus on director skill sets. (35:50) On navigating the regulatory landscape in VUCA times (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity). (41:27) On board evaluations. (46:00) Will governance regulations harmonize internationally? Example: climate change disclosures. (49:15) The UK's approach for boards to engage with employees: workers' council, board representation, or DNEDs. (46:00) Will governance regulations harmonize internationally? Example: climate change disclosures. (51:50) Books that have greatly influenced his life:How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936)Range, by David Epstein (2019) (52:38) His mentors: Barry Williams (E153) (54:13) Quotes that he thinks of often or lives his life by. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" and "I never lose, I either win or learn." (56:27) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that he loves.  (57:10) The living person he most admires. Joe Hurd is a purpose-driven public company board director and strategic advisor who focuses on digital transformation, international expansion and stakeholder engagement. You can follow Evan on social media at: X: @evanepstein LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/  Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/ __ To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/ __ 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