Trevor Fetter

"So I think that a lot of companies will look at these ESG initiatives, or even ones like the PVC pipe experience that I had a long time ago and think, okay, this is kind of a waste of time, it's a nuisance, why are these people bothering me? But over time, this makes for a better and more sustainable enterprise."

Q: "What's the proper role of a Director in working with management to make sure that diversity inclusion efforts are really being focused on in an appropriate way?" A: "Well, actually, I think you can make changes overnight, and I think that it depends on the company's circumstance. But there are plenty of companies where changes should be made overnight. And it is absolutely appropriate for the Board to engage in this topic, just like the Board would engage in any topic that related to culture of a company risk. So I think it starts with a belief. And company managements. And boards either have a sincere belief that diversity brings value and a better and more sustainable workplace to their company, or they don't. And if they do have that view, then to spend time on understanding, first of all metrics, the base case…The geography could be the world, but it's often a national geography. And those sort of limitations shape your thinking about what is possible. And a board, by definition, should be coming in with perspectives that are much broader than that and experiences that include well outside of that company. And so they can bring new questions to ask and also new degrees of experience and expertise. And that sounds like a very strong rationale for why a board itself should be composed of individuals of diverse backgrounds and experiences as well. Yeah, I think so. And I think, look, we've all seen the same stats and we've seen the statistics around how boards are changing and the recruitment and appointment of new directors and the degree to which diversity is being embraced by boards and advanced. And so I think that's going to lead to better governance. And part of it is you'll have people with different perspectives on every issue, including different degrees of experience and expertise and perspective, and that leads to better discussions. In our MBA classroom, we go to great lengths to construct a very diverse group of 90 students, because that leads to a richer discussion than if you had 90 people with exactly the same background, exactly the same work history, exactly the same national or local origin, et cetera."