In a business career that spans more than 50 years, Clint Allen, a retired CEO, Vice Chairman and Chairman of a New York Stock Exchange Member firm, and a Cambridge based biotech company, has served on 18 public company boards including such high-profile ones as Blockbuster Entertainment, Swiss Army, LKQ Corp. and Steinway Musical Instrument Company.

The climate and skill set required of an effective board member has dramatically changed since the mid 70's when Clint first sat on a public board. The enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley coupled with the recent spate of corporate shenanigans have created the need for closer board member oversight, and by extension greater understanding and knowledge of the legal, ethical and governance issues required for effective board leadership. The necessity for Professional Directors with education and skills to responsibly and ethically represent the public shareholders was born.

Clint founded the American College of Corporate Directors (formerly The Corporate Directors Group) in January of 2004 alongside a dozen board leaders with whom he could discuss and assess the larger corporate issues and concerns that all corporate directors were facing. Soon the collegial, and fun atmosphere of the director learning experience attracted director friends of friends. Word spread quickly that the American College of Corporate Directors was a great organization to learn, network and keep abreast of changing board governance issues.

In April of 2021, Corporate Board Member and the American College of Corporate Directors announced its merger with the goal to provide even greater educational and networking opportunities for the public company director community.

The merger creates a powerful new resource for corporate directors facing an increasingly volatile and disrupted era in business. It marries ACCD’s well respected webinars and forums, collegial retreats with top experts and professors, with the resources of CBM: Corporate Board Member magazine, America’s most-respected director publication; Corporate Board Member Institute, an exclusive membership organization; and CBM’s slate of world-class in-person events, including the flagship Boardroom Summit and Board Committee Peer Exchange in New York.

With a community of over 25,000 public company board members, the combination creates a leading organization serving the unique needs of public company board members. The result is an unparalleled opportunity for directors to access the highest standard of networking and instruction, as well as the theory and practice surrounding important, timely and strategic governance, risk, and stakeholder issues that face public companies in today’s complex world.   

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