Reviews of The Board Member's Guide to Risk

"This is a great resource for board members, prospective board members, and organizations looking to add board members and structure to their boards.  The writing is entertaining and clear and includes a brilliant distillation of your company’s risk down to one key element that I will leave for readers to discover.” 

– Art Monaghan, co-Founder, Granite Equity Partners

“This book is excellent. It’s exactly the right length, tone, and, content. To cover a subject as broad as risk in such a succinct manner is testimony to the author’s deep understanding of both the subject of risk and the role of corporate governance. While reading the book, it triggered my thinking on how the Boards on which I serve should be considering risk in a post-COVID virus environment. Building resilience, through Empowerment, Speed, and Trust was the biggest takeaway for me from the book. I look forward to sharing copies with my fellow Directors.” 

– Carol Gray, Board Member, IFM Investors, Board of Governors, Trent University, Board Member, Amex Bank of Canada

“The re-framing of risk in this book is really useful. Entire boards should read the book concurrently – so all are working from the same paradigm (or experience the same paradigm shift).” 

– Sarah Oquist, Chair of the Board of Directors, Woodlands National Bank, Board Member, Walker Arts Center, Adjunct Faculty Member, Mitchell Hamline School of Law

"This book is exceptionally well-crafted and genuinely insightful. I believe it will become the "go-to" guidebook about risk for board members." 

- Bartley J. Madden, Author, Value Creation Principles

“Reading this book was like drinking a fine bottle of wine. I finished it in one sitting! And yes, the book is like a good travel guide—it informs you of what you shouldn’t miss on your risk-taking journey.”

- David X Martin, Cyber Risk Management Expert, Special Counselor, Center for Financial Stability, former Chief Risk Officer, Alliance Bernstein, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Knightsbridge Capital, Adjunct Professor, NYU Stern School of Business and Author, The Nature of Risk and Risk and the Smart Investor  

Board  members should read this book if they care even the tiniest little bit  about how well they are doing at asking the right questions, making good  decisions, and offering appropriate strategic guidance to their  organizations when it comes to risk. David writes clearly, shares  important insights, recounts anecdotes that bring these issues to life,  and offers practical suggestions to use in the real world. 

- Michele Wucker, Author, The Gray Rhino

"An excellent overview of how board members can improve their governance of the organization’s risk-taking. The book is written in an engaging style with lots of useful examples and anecdotes. It provides several practical governance models to help guide decision-making and also has many helpful references for more in-depth research. It’s a must read for board members looking to strengthen their organization’s strategic decision making!"

— Jean Hinrichs, former Chief Risk Officer, Barclays Global Investors and former Lecturer, Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley

"Books about risk normally make me feel like I’m drowning in an endless litany of risks, each one of which can pull me under. This book, by contrast, throws a lifeline. Several, in fact. It's written specifically to help Board Members, not to scare them into buying consultancy services. It’s relevant, useful and practical."

- Jon Lukomnik, Managing Partner, Sinclair Capital, co-Author, What They Do with Your Money and The New Capitalists 

“This book does what it sets out to do – provide boards and individual board members with a framework for strengthening governance of their organization’s risk taking and for pursuing their strategic goals successfully. The layout of the book holds together well, and chapters logically build on each other.  The final chapter is particularly strong in summarizing, synthesizing, and suggesting future courses of action. It's a great resource."

- Sarah Forster, non-profit board member and Director of Milestone Reunions, Carleton College

  “It is already on my must read list.”

- David Finnie, co-Author, Strategy, Risk, and Governance, Board Member and Chair, Governance Committee, The Charles H. Best Diabetes Centre, former Chief Risk Officer, Central 1 Credit Union, and former Managing Director, the Global Risk Institute 

“This is well-written, concise, fresh, and engaging. The two key refrains – risk is necessary, trust is essential – left me thinking about those two themes in relation to church and college settings where I spent my career. It seems to me, they are just as applicable there as in the world of business. The principles outlined in this book are timeless. The book is also timely. I hope it gets read widely and is adopted broadly. Well done!”

- W. Bruce Benson, Host of Sing for Joy, and retired Senior Pastor, St. Olaf College

There  are many books on risk in general and on specific applications and subjects of risk management. Good and not so. If you're in a Board but for some reason you are not familiar with the concept the book is the right choice!  It is likely you will not find [as] good [a] summary [as] David gave specifically for the Board members. 

- Mikhail Fedorov, “Risk Manager of the Year” in 2018 by Russian Risk Management Society