The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals held its 66th National Conference in Washington, D.C., “The Shape of Things to Come”, earlier this month. The conference brought together over 800 participants to discuss governance issues for public companies. In this edition of the Public Company Advisor we provide a recap of some of the highlights from the conference.

Director Deliberations and Decision Making -

J. Travis Laster, Vice Chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery, discussed the importance of the deliberation process by the board of directors. He warned against cognitive bias in decision making, noting that it is easy for a board to fall into the trap of “group think” and preferring data that confirms an existing belief rather than thinking through decisions with a clear, bias-free process. He stated that the court looks for cognitive bias as part of its analysis.