Gil Friend - Risk and Fiduciary Responsibility - Issue 11

Risk, Fiduciary Responsibility and "Regulatory Insulation"

By Gil Friend, President & CEO of Natural Logic, Inc.

Executives and boards are fiduciaries, holding economic value in trust (from Latin, fidere, to trust) for shareholders. But because the scope of that trust is narrowly drawn - focused only on what can be monetized, and usually focused only on the near term - too many companies, their directors, and their executives run their companies with a rear view mirror, instead of a radar system, and miss critical market signals. As a result, Gil explains, many may be failing their duty as fiduciaries.

Despite the considerable progress some firms have made in integrating sustainability into their business, even the best of corporate sustainability initiatives may be inadequate to both the challenge or the opportunity we face.

Gil shows us how companies that look at the world - and competitive markets - through an ecological lens can identify key issues early, position their products ahead of the trend, and avoid the cognitive errors and flawed management methodologies that hamper companies that don't.