A five-part special series·from Inside CVC

Boardrooms
in Transition.

A u-path Production

The decisions shaping the next decade are being made in boardrooms right now. Boardrooms in Transition is a five-part Inside CVC series exploring how today's directors and executives lead through AI disruption, capital uncertainty, and the pressure to act before the answer is clear — with five public company board directors who have been in the room when it mattered most.

Start ListeningMeet the Guests5 episodes · ~3.5 hours
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The Series

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  1. EP 0142 min

    Failure to Act

    Didier Cossin

  2. EP 0238 min

    Risk and Speed

    Larry Quinlan

  3. EP 0345 min

    Investment Under Uncertainty

    Karen Francis

  4. EP 0441 min

    Leadership Under Pressure

    Barry Salzberg

  5. EP 0544 min

    Board Dynamics

    Penny Herscher

The Guests

Five people who have a seat at the boardroom table.

Professors, chairs, and former global chiefs. Each conversation exploring questions boards of directors can no longer avoid.

Didier Cossin

Didier Cossin

Board Director and IMD Professor of Governance

EP 01 · Failure to Act

Boards often see the issue clearly. They delay the decision that matters most.

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Larry Quinlan

Larry Quinlan

Board Director and Former Global CIO

EP 02 · Risk and Speed

AI, cybersecurity, and data risk are now board-level strategy. The battleship must learn to turn.

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Karen Francis

Karen Francis

Public Company Chair

EP 03 · Investment Under Uncertainty

Decide when to invest before the payoff is clear. Price the cost of not doing.

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Barry Salzberg

Barry Salzberg

Board Director and Former Global CEO

EP 04 · Leadership Under Pressure

Leaders set the emotional and strategic tone when scrutiny rises. The flight attendant model.

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Penny Herscher

Penny Herscher

Public Company Chair

EP 05 · Board Dynamics

Board quality depends on behavior, trust, courage, and the chair's ability to shape the room.

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Editorial

“The flight attendant's the leader at that moment. Look at the leader. And if the leader is calm and confident and able to just conduct business normally, however the pressure externally might be, then you're calm.”

Barry Salzberg

Episodes

The full series. Built to binge.

Available onApple·Spotify·Buzzsprout

Each episode includes a short recap. Already binging? Use the chapter markers to jump straight to the conversation.

Episode 0142 min
Didier Cossin

Didier Cossin

Board Director and IMD Professor of Governance

Failure to Act

Boards often see the issue clearly. They delay the decision that matters most.

“There is simply the fact that many board members lack courage. They're afraid of losing the position.”

About the guest

Didier Cossin is a global authority on corporate governance and board effectiveness. He is the founder and director of the IMD Global Board Center and has advised boards, executives, regulators, and investors around the world on governance, strategy, and stewardship. Through his work with some of the world's leading organizations, Didier has helped shape how boards think about risk, collective judgment, and long-term value creation.

Listen onApple PodcastsSpotifyBuzzsprout
Episode 0238 min
Larry Quinlan

Larry Quinlan

Board Director and Former Global CIO

Risk and Speed

AI, cybersecurity, and data risk are now board-level strategy. The battleship must learn to turn.

“The adoption of AI is occurring at breakneck speed. And from a boardroom perspective, speed is something we've got to figure out and react to.”

About the guest

Larry Quinlan is the former Global Chief Information Officer of Deloitte and a recognized leader in digital transformation, technology strategy, and AI governance. Over a distinguished career spanning more than three decades, he led global technology initiatives across one of the world's largest professional services firms and has become a trusted advisor to boards and executives navigating the intersection of technology, risk, and organizational change.

Listen onApple PodcastsSpotifyBuzzsprout
Episode 0345 min
Karen Francis

Karen Francis

Public Company Chair

Investment Under Uncertainty

Decide when to invest before the payoff is clear. Price the cost of not doing.

“Your existing company and employee base needs to run the business, deliver the results, and then transform the company.”

About the guest

Karen Francis is an experienced public company director, investor, and former operating executive whose board leadership spans the automotive, mobility, technology, and healthcare sectors. She has served on the boards of numerous global companies and is widely recognized for her expertise in capital allocation, strategic transformation, and innovation. Her career has focused on helping organizations navigate periods of disruption while balancing long-term growth with shareholder value.

Listen onApple PodcastsSpotifyBuzzsprout
Episode 0441 min
Barry Salzberg

Barry Salzberg

Board Director and Former Global CEO

Leadership Under Pressure

Leaders set the emotional and strategic tone when scrutiny rises. The flight attendant model.

“The really good leaders learn how to deal with it calmly, with resilience, with a level of maturity and confidence to get not only themselves through it, but to get the entire organization through it.”

About the guest

Barry Salzberg is the former Global Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte and one of the most respected voices in leadership and corporate stewardship. During his career, he led Deloitte through periods of significant growth and transformation while championing investments in talent development and innovation, including the creation of Deloitte University. Today, he serves on corporate boards and advises leaders on governance, resilience, and long-term value creation.

Listen onApple PodcastsSpotifyBuzzsprout
Episode 0544 min
Penny Herscher

Penny Herscher

Public Company Chair

Board Dynamics

Board quality depends on behavior, trust, courage, and the chair's ability to shape the room.

“You end up leading, but you're very much leading from behind because you're not the leader of the company.”

About the guest

Penny Herscher is a seasoned public company chair, former chief executive officer, and board leader with nearly two decades of experience serving companies across the United States and Europe. She has led CEO succession processes, governance transformations, and board renewal efforts across multiple industries. A passionate advocate for effective board culture and leadership development, she is also the co-founder of The Chair Circle, a forum designed to help board chairs navigate the increasingly complex challenges facing modern governance.

Listen onApple PodcastsSpotifyBuzzsprout
The Hosts

The people asking the questions.

Boardrooms in Transition is hosted by the u-path team behind Inside CVC — practitioners who sit across the table from boards every week.

Philipp Willigmann

Philipp Willigmann

Founder, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner, u-path

Philipp Willigmann is founder, CEO and managing partner at u-path where he advises boards, executives, investors and founders on strategic inflection points, innovation strategy, capital allocation and international market expansion between Europe, the U.S. and Asia.He serves as Supervisory Board Member of EXPO 2035 Berlin, Chairman of the Advisory Board at GlassDollar, Advisory Board Member at W Social and Positive Impact GmbH, and Strategic Advisor to AsiaBerlin. His previous board and advisory roles include BASF Chemovator, Corbiota, Juxta and Konect.An IMD-certified board professional, Philipp brings a practitioner’s lens to governance, shaped by his experience founding and leading Vontier Ventures, building corporate venture and innovation platforms, and helping companies move from strategy to execution across markets and ecosystems.

Connect with Philipp on LinkedIn
Steve Schmith

Steve Schmith

Chief Marketing Officer, u-path · Co-host, Inside CVC

Steve is Chief Marketing & Ecosystem Officer at U-Path and co-creator and host of Inside CVC, a podcast engaging senior corporate leaders globally on venture, innovation, and go-to-market strategy and strategic capital.

Connect with Steve on LinkedIn
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Want more? Boardrooms in Transition is just the beginning.

Boardrooms in Transition is just the start. Coming next: five CFOs on the capital decisions that define companies, five Chief Strategy Officers on the moves nobody sees coming, and special series on Humans & Machines, Inclusive Innovation, and the Geopolitics of Innovation. Between series, the weekly Inside CVC show keeps running. New guests, new conversations, every week. Subscribe below. You'll be first to hear what's next.

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Deep dives
NACDFeatured in NACD Directorship

Risk, Routines, and Ripple Effects

In an accompanying article for NACD Directorship, Philipp Willigmann examines how boards can move from risk recognition to real action, and what it takes to close the gap between knowing and doing.

Gated Access

Enter your email to read the full NACD article.

NACD content access. Single email, single article.

Explore More

A curated path, not a link dump.

Acknowledgments

Music by Wayne Escoffery

Special thanks to Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and composer Wayne Escoffery for lending his music to the soundtrack of Boardrooms in Transition. A member of the Yale School of Music faculty and one of the leading voices in contemporary jazz, Wayne's work helps bring this series to life.

Learn more about Wayne and his music