In the Boardroom

A year ago, I sat down with my friend Steven Galbraith to record the first conversation of Capital Allocators. We had a great time, I thought I might be onto something, and I promptly lost the recording for the next two days. Eventually, I got the technology to work, recorded a few more, and went from there. It’s been a great journey and an incredibly fun time, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the next year.

One common refrain across my conversations has been the importance and subtleties of effective governance in making optimal investment decisions. Alongside Steve’s incredible career as an analyst, strategist, portfolio manager, and entrepreneur in the asset management business, he has served on as many Boards as anyone I know. I imagine many of you have heard Steve’s story, but if not, you may want to have a listen to the very first episode of Capital Allocators before diving in here.

Our conversation today starts with an update on Steve’s personal investment in the Narragansett Beer Company and moves into a practical discussion inside the Board rooms of each of his current seats that range across a university, a large family office, a public company, a government agency, and two early stage fintech companies. We touch on time allocation, governance structure, Board composition, adding value, the politics of Boards, and the motivation of Board members.

We also get an update on Steve’s family office, that he’s managing alongside his wife Lucy, a seasoned distressed debt investor, and we close with our brief, contrary outlooks on the baseball season.

Steve’s perspective and insights on the real world of Boards is second to none, and this conversation is as full of gems as our first one.