For the third year running, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has named Brian Stafford, CEO of Diligent Corporation, among the top 100 influential leaders in the boardroom and corporate governance community.
Diligent, the largest global network of corporate directors and executives, provides nearly 700,000 leaders across 19,000 organizations in more than 90 countries with highly secure, integrated SaaS technologies. With an eye towards inclusivity and accessibility, Diligent serves some of the largest public governing bodies, including more than 50% of the Fortune 1000, 70% of the FTSE 100, and 65% of the ASX.
The NACD Directorship 100 is composed of 50 public company directors and 50 governance professionals and institutions that exemplify knowledge, leadership, and excellence. Each year, NACD Directorship magazine recognizes these individuals for their significant role in shaping the greater boardroom agenda.
Since joining Diligent in 2015, Brian has transformed the company by balancing rapid growth-in terms of headcount, footprint, and new products. He took the company private in 2016 and doubled down on innovation to support customers, increasing investment in research and development by twofold.
Building on the launch of modern governance last year, Brian and the Diligent team recently introduced Modern Leadership, an initiative aimed at providing board directors and senior leaders with the resources, insights, partnerships, and technology they need to further catalyze diversity in their organizations. Intended to address historic issues around both pipeline and transparency, Modern Leadership established the largest and most diverse community of board-ready executives globally along with a directory of open board roles and searches intended for diverse director candidates.
'In a time when modern governance matters more than ever, I'm honored to be recognized by NACD as an innovator and leader in the governance community alongside so many highly respected directors and peers,' said Stafford. 'Together we are navigating unchartered waters, and at Diligent we are committed to providing our customers, directors and the governance community with the thought leadership, product innovation, and networking opportunities necessary to come out stronger on the other side.'