Gerina Eberl-Hancock – Get to know our VAB member

What inspired you to become a member of the Virtual Advisory Board community?

My life has been filled with global and international professional and personal human relations. People have always made the difference to me. Being at the intersection of a long and rich career and at the same time becoming an empty nester (having raised a family parallel to my work), it is time to reinvent myself in my next life chapter - including engaging with new groups of individuals who could stimulate my thinking, challenge my perspectives, and define new paths in a collaborative and solidary setting. So I got introduced to VAB about one month ago...

The magic of our Virtual Advisory Board community derives, it seems to me, from the fact that we are a global group of high calibre personalities formed of 1) outgoing and mature executive leaders with a growth mindset 2) bringing a wealth of rich know-how and experience and 3) sharing the desire to contribute and share their learnings with others. It is the exclusive and fine selection of those quality business seniors, their openness to share, and their community mindset which deeply inspired me to join. At VAB you can learn and contribute at the same time. Since my onboarding just a month ago, I have had such high number of wonderful individual and group contacts. They accelerated my network at the speed of light. The two founders, Mark and David, are exemplary in connecting and creating social cues. Being driven by results as much as people, I set myself the goal of obtaining at least one initial advisory board membership within the next 12-15 months.

In what area do you feel board advisors can add the most value for Boards of Directors (BoDs) and executive teams?

From what I was able to observe over my past business leadership experiences, the majority of boards focus on the regular corporate governance and (financial) regulation of a company. Their work seemed more NOW focused than future-oriented. However, today, I feel it is increasingly important for the longevity of a company and its sustainability to define a strong winning strategy and plan for the future in a market with high levels of competitive complexity. I believe board advisors can make the difference here and build credibility and trust. Being separated from the operational business, they have the space to assist based on their past experience and their market and industry knowledge in situation assessments. They can dare to stretch and challenge and help set the strategic definition for company’s next chapters. In fact, they could be seen as closing the gap between a more operational executive team and a compliance governing board of directors.

What would be your dream company/organisation to work with as a board advisor/NED?

My passion is fuelled by new trends, innovations and out of the box ideas created based on human needs. So in general I favour innovative and progressive enterprises who are pioneers in their field: with creative and new technologies, proprietary and strong R&D. Plus, I am drawn to leadership and team communities collaborating in a less hierarchical, but more circular, dimension towards the same dreams. As an analytical creator or innovative builder, spontaneously LEGO, ALPHABET and YAMO come to mind, were I to give examples of both small and large companies I find intriguing. Companies that have a mission to drive more profitable growth and are ready to fight for their market leadership positions or to gain a good market position.

What book or podcast would you recommend to VAB members that might improve their skills in corporate governance, board advisory or boosting board-to-executive team communications?

Regarding corporate governance I have read Sustainable Corporate Governance by Jens Magers. It is very focused on understanding the legal issues for the boards of shareholder-responsible companies in Germany. Concerning board advisory, I recommend The IMPERFECT Board Member by Jim Brown. I cannot think of a book on communication from advisory board to executive team; however, I do recommend some books on executive communication: How to Say It for Executives by Phyllis Mindell or The Language of Trust by Ingrid Christensen.

Follow Gerina Eberl-Hancock on LinkedIn.