Board Chair Series Episode 9: Conor Kehoe

The Horizon-Scanning Chair: Governing for the Long-Term in an Age of Short-Term Capital

What is the real job of a board chair when investors demand quarterly earnings, but the survival of the enterprise depends on scanning the horizon decades in advance?  

In this session of The Board Chair Series, David Beatty sits down with Conor Kehoe, Chair of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and former Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, to untangle our thinking around the current state of ESG and Corporate Sustainability and Social Responsibility. Sitting at the center of a global network representing thousands of institutional investors, Conor brings an unparalleled point of view on how boards and chairs can look past the "noise" to focus on systemic resilience.  

Together, David and Conor will explore how the concept of ESG is evolving away from rigid compliance and toward a hard-nosed reality of supply chain resilience, geopolitical shifts, and technological survival. From the anti-ESG movement in the U.S. to the massive renewable energy capacity shifts in China and pragmatism in Europe, this conversation maps out what North American directors must anticipate to protect their organizations.  

Together, David and Conor will explore:

• The Reallocation Penalty: Why bold, long-term capital decisions often depress share prices for 18 months and how avoiding them worsen long term outlook. How chairs can protect management from market reactions? This is not to suggest that the market can’t fund long term loss makers i.e. Amazon, nor, even, that the market is inefficient. The market may simply not have enough information to process the ‘bold move’ and management, in public markets, may not want to fill this information gap as to do so would inform competitors. 
• The Global ESG Complexion: Navigating the widening policy divergence between a pragmatic Europe, an enthusiastic East, and a wavering U.S.  
• The Cost of the Commons: How to anticipate physical climate risks (like insurance market failures) and the impending real dollar costs associated with carbon emissions.  
• Technology as a Governance Challenge: Why AI, small fission reactors, and global chip shortages are not tech problems—they are massive re-evaluations of accountability and competitive advantage. 
• The Chair’s True North: How can the Chair positively impact all of what is laid out above? Shifting the boardroom conversation from quarterly budgets and annual plans to multi-decade stewardship and systemic resilience. 

This conversation goes beyond standard compliance checklists. It is a strategic, high-level, and deeply analytical overview for Chairs who want to help their management teams see around corners without stepping on executive toes.

Join us this November 9th at 12:00 PM EST for a candid discussion on the future of corporate value creation and institutional survival.