The bursting of the dotcom bubble in the US has triggered an intensive debate on the role of non-executive directors on the boards of major companies.
Fortunately, or otherwise, the UK has had previous experience of the problems that arise where a company is dominated by one influential chief executive with no checks or balances among his board colleagues. Rules adopted more than a decade ago here are being legislated into the US corporate regime as a matter of urgency. Naturally, some of the knock-on effects of urgent measures there are producing unexpected consequences in the UK and also a review of the contribution that non-executives are expected to make.
