Vanessa Fuhrmans and Rachel Feintzeig, The Wall Street Journal, June 21, 2018

WSJ-6-21-Scrutiny-of-CEOs

Chief executives used to be able to operate with little scrutiny beyond their quarterly results. That’s no longer the case.

Decades ago, board members were more likely to look the other way on office romances and other matters considered personal, according to executive recruiters and corporate governance experts, but the role of CEO is more high profile than ever before, limiting the room for transgressions.

“There’s a new level of rigor that says if something is on the books, it needs to be upheld and not ignored,” said Davia Temin, adding that boards of directors are increasingly concerned about anything that might affect a company’s reputation.

Corporate missteps can go viral fast, thanks to cellphone cameras, social media and apps and websites like Glassdoor and Blind—popular with tech workers—where employees can anonymously share feedback. “It’s much less easy to have secrets,” said Davia Temin. “Organizations are more porous.” […read more]