The Handbook of Board Governance, 3rd Edition

33Considerations for Emergency Board Succession Planning Under the Worst-case Scenario

Jack L. Rozdilsky, PhD

Associate Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, York University

Forward

This forward provides contextual background information, disclosures, and disclaimers necessary for the reader to make practical use of this chapter of the Handbook of Board Governance.

This chapter consists of an exploration of a specific topic of concern related to board governance—dealing with the worst-case scenario of deaths of multiple board members.

In the strict context of board governance, this topic would fall into the domain of emergency succession planning. However, this chapter takes a more expansive approach adding to the interdisciplinary mix topics of social and behavioral aspects of disaster and trauma coping.

Readers bring with them their own unique life experiences. Such lived experiences contribute to the way in which readers perceive information. Some of the topics in this chapter may be triggering. These topics include description of a mass shooting incident, references to the worst-case scenario of sudden deaths of multiple board members, and frank discussion of selected aspects of trauma exposure. If you are a trauma survivor, you may encounter topics in this chapter that are difficult or upsetting. Readers are hereby encouraged to take necessary steps for emotional safety.

By way of disclosure, this author is a resident of a condominium building in a suburb of ...