Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein

Episoade

• Laurie Yoler: Boards at the Edge of Innovation 18.05.2026 1h 2min

  Laurie Yoler, venture capital investor at Playground Global, former board member at Tesla and Zoox, and a director or advisor on more than 25 boards across public companies, startups, and nonprofits, joins the Boardroom Governance Podcast to discuss company building, AI governance, private markets, cybersecurity, geopolitics, and courage in the boardroom. She currently serves on the boards of Church & Dwight and the NACD Northern California Chapter.
• Marie Oh Huber: Governing Through Disruption 11.05.2026 57min

  Marie Oh Huber discusses governance lessons from her leadership roles at eBay and Agilent Technologies, including shareholder activism, CEO and board dynamics, and succession planning. The conversation also explores how boards should navigate AI, geopolitical risk, energy constraints, and the broader challenges of leadership and trust in a rapidly changing business environment.
• Eddie Ramos: How AI Is Reshaping Investing and Boardrooms 04.05.2026 59min

  Eddie Ramos discusses how AI, private markets, and geopolitics are reshaping investing and corporate governance. The conversation explores tokenization, audit committee oversight of AI, and why boards remain under prepared for the pace of technological change.
• Steven Lipin: Activism, M&A, and the Rising Stakes of Board Communication 21.04.2026 56min

  Steve Lipin, the founder and CEO of Gladstone Place Partners, discusses how corporate governance has evolved through the lens of communications, investor relations, and crisis management. The conversation explores shareholder activism, M&A dynamics, and the growing impact of cybersecurity and AI on boardroom decision-making.
• Benjamin Means: The Principles of Family Business Law and Governance 07.04.2026 48min

  Benjamin Means discusses the unique governance challenges of family-controlled companies, drawing on his book Principles of Family Business Law. The conversation explores shareholder oppression, succession planning, fiduciary duties, and how boards can navigate the overlap between family, ownership, and management.
• Eric Ries: Incorruptible, and the Case for Long-Term Governance Reform 31.03.2026 1h 18min

  Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup and founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, joins the podcast to discuss his new book Incorruptible. We explore why so many governance systems fail to support long-term thinking, the concept of "financial gravity," and what genuinely reform-minded governance could look like, from AI governance, public benefit corporations, to "mission-locked constellations."
• Benjamin Edwards: The Rise of Nevada in the Reincorporation Debate 23.03.2026 1h

  Professor Benjamin Edwards discusses the rise of Nevada in the reincorporation debate and why more companies are reconsidering Delaware. The conversation explores founder control, litigation risk, SB21, Nevada’s business courts, and what shifting incorporation choices mean for boards and investors.
• Joelle Emerson: Why Company Culture Is a Core Governance Issue 09.03.2026 52min

  Joelle Emerson, CEO and co-founder of Paradigm, discusses why company culture should be treated as a core governance issue and how boards should think about leadership, AI-driven workforce change, and the evolving politics of workplace culture.
• Leo Strine: Delaware’s Moment, AI Guardrails, and a Call of Conscience 23.02.2026 1h 6min

  Former Delaware Chief Justice Leo Strine returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on the state of corporate law, shifts in Delaware governance, shareholder rights, AI companies, and the ethical responsibilities of directors in a rapidly changing political and technological landscape.
• Betsy Atkins: Why Directors Must Become More Entrepreneurial and Change-Adaptive 09.02.2026 1h 2min

  In this milestone Episode 200, Betsy Atkins, one of the most experienced directors in the U.S., shares insights from decades of board service. She has served on more than 38 public company boards and through 17 IPOs, in addition to numerous PE and VC-backed company boards. She currently serves on the boards of Wynn Las Vegas, GoPuff, and the Google Cloud Advisory Board.
• Michael Ewens (Columbia Business School): What the Data Reveals About Startup Boards and Private Equity 03.02.2026 59min

  Columbia Business School professor Michael Ewens joins the podcast to unpack what data reveals about startup board dynamics, founder power, and investor influence. We also discuss the current exit landscape, IPOs, private equity, and the future role of boards in an AI-driven economy.
• Jennifer Ceran: From Treasury to CFO to the Boardroom 27.01.2026 55min

  Jennifer Ceran is a seasoned finance executive and board member whose career spans treasury leadership, the CFO role, and public and private company board service. Jennifer currently serves on the boards of NerdWallet, Wyze, Riskified, Klaviyo, Flock Safety, and Mesh Payments.
• Jeff Epstein (Bessemer Venture Partners): Why Effective Boards Spend Time on Decisions Not Yet Made 20.01.2026 55min

  Jeff Epstein discusses why effective boards focus their time on decisions not yet made, drawing on his experience as a former public company CFO, board member at Autodesk, AvePoint, Okta, and Twilio (previously at Kaiser Permanente and Booking Holdings), and operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, where he leads Bessemer’s CFO Council and works closely with portfolio company CEOs and CFOs to share best practices.
• Joe Grundfest (Stanford): 2026 Predictions and 2025 Reflections 12.01.2026 56min

  In this annual year-end episode, Evan Epstein and Joe Grundfest reflect on the major governance and market developments of 2025, from IPOs and AI to Delaware law and executive compensation. They also offer clear-eyed predictions on the trends boards should be watching as they head into 2026.
• David Berger: Year-End Reflections on Corporate Governance and the Road Ahead 23.12.2025 53min

  David Berger is a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and the President of the American College of Governance Counsel. We dive into some of the most consequential issues facing directors today, including AI ethics and governance, dual-class share structures, and the emergence of new governance structures in technology companies. We also discuss whether we are in an AI bubble, the shifting dynamics of private markets, Delaware’s governance challenges, and the political forces now shaping boardroom decision-making.
• Richard Blake: Key Takeaways from the 2025 Silicon Valley 150 Governance Report 15.12.2025 1h

  Richard Blake is a partner at Wilson Sonsini and the leader of the firm’s public companies practice. He is one of the lead authors of the 2025 Silicon Valley 150 Corporate Governance Report, an annual study tracking governance trends among leading technology and life sciences companies. We discuss the key findings from the 2025 report, including notable shifts in DEI disclosure, evolving approaches to ESG, and how companies are responding to an increasingly complex state and federal regulatory landscape.
• Michelle Leder (Footnoted): Uncovering Hidden Risks in SEC Filings 08.12.2025 52min

  Michelle Leder is the founder and editor-in-chief of footnoted.com, a source for uncovering important information hidden deep in SEC filings, and a longtime voice for transparency and accountability in financial disclosures. Michelle and I dive into how footnoted started, and why scrutinizing SEC filings, especially the rarely-read footnotes and after-hours “Friday Night Dump” disclosures, is relevant for boards, investors, and governance professionals.
• Erik Lie: Catching Cheats, Fraud Detection, and the Board’s Evolving Role 24.11.2025 1h

  Erik Lie is the Amelia Tippie Chair in Finance and Professor at the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. His new book, Catching Cheats: Everyday Forensics to Unmask Business Fraud, offers a compelling look at how forensic economics and data-driven analysis can help identify wrongdoing that remains hidden in plain sight. We talk about a broad range of governance and fraud-related issues, beginning with the challenges of private-market data, the evolving responsibilities of directors in fraud detection, and real-world lessons from the Bernie Madoff case and other historic white-collar scandals.
• Sue Siegel: Innovation, Life Sciences, and Governance in a Changing World 10.11.2025 58min

  Sue Siegel is a highly accomplished executive, investor, and board member who has been at the forefront of innovation across life sciences, healthcare, and technology for more than three decades. She currently serves on the boards of Illumina, Align Technology, Nevro, The Engine (built by MIT), and the Kaiser Family Foundation, and has served on more than twenty boards over the course of her career.
• Karen Page: Venture Boards, Founder Governance, and the Path from Startup to Scale 03.11.2025 57min

  Karen Page is a General Partner and Board Partner at B Capital, a global multi-stage venture firm founded by Eduardo Saverin and Raj Ganguly that partners with Boston Consulting Group to help scale high-growth startups. Karen brings decades of experience as an operator, investor, and board member across the technology and venture ecosystem. We discuss her career journey and path into VC. Karen shares insights into her investment focus at B Capital and reflects on how governance has evolved across early- and growth-stage companies.