Dᴇɴɴɪs Jay Cᴀɢᴀɴ

The conference will be held in Washington, D.C. on June 5-7, 2019. Mr. Cagan was the lead panelist for the closing session on board compensation - Director Compensation - What Should You Pay?

A review of Mr. Cagan's book.

The definitive book on private company boards of directors.
Praise for The Board of Directors for a Private Enterprise

“Your book is an amazing piece of work. You are setting a new standard for a real-world advisory guide on boards of directors: why have one, and how to recruit for, form, run, and get value from a board. You have done yourself proud. This book reflects your vast body of experience coupled with superb writing talent, resulting in a guidebook that will be helpful to… Show more

The definitive book on private company boards of directors.
Praise for The Board of Directors for a Private Enterprise

“Your book is an amazing piece of work. You are setting a new standard for a real-world advisory guide on boards of directors: why have one, and how to recruit for, form, run, and get value from a board. You have done yourself proud. This book reflects your vast body of experience coupled with superb writing talent, resulting in a guidebook that will be helpful to management and board members of not only the smaller and privately owned company but of established public companies as well.”
- James Kristie, Former Editor & Associate Publisher, Directors & Boards Magazine

“This book should be required reading for all entrepreneurs and VC firms. I particularly enjoyed the war stories on the Director Firings!”
- Don Daseke, President & CEO, Daseke Inc.

“This book is of genuine value. I do believe in the ‘independent’ board for private companies, but just as Mr. Kristie, judge that there is a dearth of good advice on how to recruit, develop, and lead such boards. Yours will be a very worthwhile contribution to the field, and a book that I will recommend to the many in the audience that shudder at the task of building that first board. Some specifics: Superb calling out of the need for documentation. You are spot on with your observation regarding recruitment that ‘you can often learn more about them from the questions they ask you than the ones you ask them’. Your treatment of comparing the fiduciary board versus the advisory board is the best explanation I have ever seen. And it is a question on the minds of many private companies that I have visited. Kudos on this wonderful contribution to the family business segment!”
- Jim Ethier, Former Chairman, Bush Brothers & Company
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Article: Different types of private companies need different types of board structures.

Article: Pearls of governance wisdom and years of service, that is. 35 years as Editor of Directors&Boards. To finish out my 35 years as editor of DIRECTORS & BOARDS, I have selected 35 punchy observations about life in the boardroom that appeared in our pages during my time at the helm.

Mr. Cagan: “I’ve always loved the idea of a ‘kitchen cabinet’ and to me that is what a great board meeting should feel like.” — Dennis Cagan, director and investor, in “How To Have a Great Board Meeting”… Show more

Article: Pearls of governance wisdom and years of service, that is. 35 years as Editor of Directors&Boards. To finish out my 35 years as editor of DIRECTORS & BOARDS, I have selected 35 punchy observations about life in the boardroom that appeared in our pages during my time at the helm.

Mr. Cagan: “I’ve always loved the idea of a ‘kitchen cabinet’ and to me that is what a great board meeting should feel like.” — Dennis Cagan, director and investor, in “How To Have a Great Board Meeting” [Fourth Quarter 2013] Show less

Article: Simply put, this is where the ‘buck’ stops for a board to achieve its fullest potential.

Article: Board lessons from Admiral Bobby Inman. Interviewed by Dennis Cagan

Article: A tangible upgrade. The Governance Year in Review issue is our prime opportunity to reflect on the year just past, with
the month-by-month timeline of 2015 as the centerpiece of our look back.
• In a board, power and influence come primarily from respect and confidence, which are not gained quickly or easily. — “Welcome Aboard to Your ‘Youngster’ on the Board” by Dennis Cagan (Q1).

Article: There are directors who are out of synch with everyone else, to the point of disrupting the proceedings and causing damage to the board’s collaborative culture.

Article: The addition of a new director always impacts (not always for the good) board dynamics, and if the new director is particularly young this adds even more to the challenge for both the freshman director and the board. But a smooth onboarding is eminently doable.

Article: My own top five list of the most needed — yet least identified — qualities for an outstanding board director.

Article: Over the last few years, cybersecurity risk has quickly risen to be the most dangerous, multi-dimensional risk faced by any organization. The cyber part of the term cybersecurity is fairly new, especially for companies, while the security part is an age-old problem for businesses. In terms of corporate governance, who has the ultimate fiduciary responsibility for this critical issue? The board, of course.

Article: What makes private company board service different than public company board service?

Article: Thinking about private board diversity in a four-dimensional way.

When interviewing for a board seat, what questions should you ask, AND what questions should you expect to be asked by the candidate.

The conference was held in Washington, D.C. on May 7-9, 2014. Mr. Cagan was the moderator for the opening panel on conducting board meetings, and facilitated the breakout session on mentoring the CEO.

Most family businesses of any meaningful size already have a board of directors. If the company is organized as a corporation, a board is required. Yet most of these boards are made up exclusively of family members. If the CEO is non-family, he or she may also serve as a director. Is this the best we can do?

Article: The tone, content, and conduct of this meeting are critical to the level of governance and ultimate value of having a board. Yet outside of the board’s inner circle, few people know what typically goes on in one, much less how to organize and effectively conduct a board meeting

The conference was be held in Washington, D.C. on May 15-17, 2013. In this Keynote session Mr. Cagan was interviewed live by James Kristie, Editor and Associate Publisher of Directors&Boards Magazine on a wide range of private company governance issues and topics.

For Small and Private Companies: Company to Director, You're Fired!

Most seasoned CEO’s, chairmen or private company owners don’t hesitate to fire an employee that simply does not fit, yet they can be hesitant and indecisive when it comes to asking a director to step down. Why do they feel uncomfortable in this situation, and should they? How do you fire a director? If you have been a fan of Donald J. Trump’s TV show The Apprentice, you know that you just have to say, “You’re fired!”… Show more

For Small and Private Companies: Company to Director, You're Fired!

Most seasoned CEO’s, chairmen or private company owners don’t hesitate to fire an employee that simply does not fit, yet they can be hesitant and indecisive when it comes to asking a director to step down. Why do they feel uncomfortable in this situation, and should they? How do you fire a director? If you have been a fan of Donald J. Trump’s TV show The Apprentice, you know that you just have to say, “You’re fired!” While that might be just fine for The Donald [now the 45th president of the United States], and for firing an employee, for some reason firing a board member can often be much more intimidating. Perhaps this is because, unlike a subordinate, many directors are often more senior and successful in their career than the company CEO. They are likely to be highly respected leaders in their field, which may be why they were invited to join the board in the first place. Regardless, all directors serve at the pleasure of the owners of the company, whether that means public shareholders, private owners, family members, a private equity group, or one individual. Show less

The Q4 issue of DIRECTORS and BOARDS Magazine contains an article by Dennis titled 'The ABCs of forming an advisory board'. The Q2 2012 issue contained one titled 'Finding directors for the smaller and early-stage company'. Both are available below for download.

The Last Inch (A White Paper on the New Frontier in Man-Machine Interface). Mobility including mobile devices and mobile apps is the new paradigm in the user interface. The last mile is obsolete.

There are an abundance of issues around forming a board: the risks and benefits, how to form it, and what to do with it after it’s formed. However, perhaps the most important consider- ation ultimately is who the actual directors will be and what value they add to your business.

For current items lease look below:

Background: In 1979 Dennis was the keynote speaker at the industry's first COMDEX Show, in Las Vegas. COMDEX grew to become the largest trade show in the USA for many years. Dennis has had a modest public profile over the years. He has been widely quoted in the trade and general press, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes magazines. He has written many articles for publications including CRN-Computer Reseller News, Electronic News… Show more

For current items lease look below:

Background: In 1979 Dennis was the keynote speaker at the industry's first COMDEX Show, in Las Vegas. COMDEX grew to become the largest trade show in the USA for many years. Dennis has had a modest public profile over the years. He has been widely quoted in the trade and general press, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and Forbes magazines. He has written many articles for publications including CRN-Computer Reseller News, Electronic News, California Business, Electronic Business, AFSMI Professional Journal, AFSMI European Services Industry, Service & Support Management/MSM magazine, Service Management magazine - UK & Europe, and CTIA Computing Channels/A Better Channel magazine. His career has included speeches at numerous computer industry trade shows and conferences sponsored by companies including the Interface Group (including COMDEX - now part of Softbank), Microsoft, U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Dataquest, Frost & Sullivan, InfoCorp, the Yankee Group, BIS/CAP (NYNEX), ISNI, and Association For Services Management International (AFSMI). Show less