BCBR works to increase Black representation on corporate boards across the United States.

More capital flows through corporations than through governments, making corporate governance crucial to wide-ranging economic and societal impact. Research has shown that increased board diversity—in terms of gender, race, economic level, lived experience, and more—leads to measurably better business outcomes. And diversity starts at the top.

Even so, more than one-third of S&P 500 companies lacked even one Black board member as recently as 2019, and only 4% of Russell 3000 board directors are Black. Addressing that problem is why the BCBR was founded.

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The program is open to executives from all backgrounds and identities who have gained extensive senior leadership experience or an equivalent span of control, including as a CEO or general manager. From among qualified executives nationwide who apply, up to 35 participants are selected per cohort.

We launch every cohort with a welcome reception, where participants are introduced to the BCBR community, including Mentors and Alumni. After the reception, the cohort engages in virtual sessions over an 8 - 10 week period. On the final session date, there are Mentor Panels and virtual certificate ceremony. Participants receive both a digital certificate and a badge recognizing completion of the BCBR program.

• People with lived experience as sitting directors and subject matter experts are responsible for creating and presenting the program curriculum, along with providing personalized mentorship to each BCBR Participant.
• More than courses and book-learning, BCBR includes attention to the intangibles that board members must navigate.
• BCBR is hosted by a sponsoring university, Santa Clara University, built on Jesuit principles, including a commitment to social justice.
• The program was formed and launched with speed and dedication. The co-founders followed up immediately on every potential connection and got the first cohort up and running quickly.
• The BCBR co-founders think big, believing that changing corporate governance can help change the world for the better.

BCBR was co-founded by Thane Kreiner, PhD, and Dennis Lanham.

Thane is a board member, co-founder, and independent advisor with 27+ years’ experience leading systemic change to improve health and wellness for people and the planet. He served for a decade as executive director of Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, which transformed under his direction into the world’s leading university-based accelerator of social enterprises. Before that, he started four life sciences ventures and served as president and CEO of DNA chip industry pioneer Affymetrix. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, a doctoral degree in neurosciences from Stanford University School of Medicine, and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

Dennis is senior assistant dean and executive director of the Leavey Executive Center at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. He has built several dozen high-impact executive and professional development programs and universities across the United States. He earned a bachelor’s degree in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Texas, a master’s degree in higher education and higher education administration from the Florida State University College of Education, and an MBA in international business from Georgia State University’s J. Jack Robinson College of Business.

Through their mutual ties to Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university located in the heart of Silicon Valley, California, they first became colleagues, then close friends. They found that they shared a passion for fostering a more just, humane, and sustainable world, as well as an abiding belief that collective action is essential to effect social justice.

They recognized that the underrepresentation of Black leaders on boards was not due to a lack of qualified professionals. Many talented individuals from all backgrounds have the education, credentials, and skills needed for leadership roles in corporate boardrooms and executive suites.

Dennis had experience building SCU’s Women’s Corporate Board Readiness (WCBR) program, launched in 2019, to increase the representation of women in corporate board roles. In early 2020, he and Thane began exploring a similar program at SCU to support more diverse leaders in securing board positions. After the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, they committed to turning the BCBR program into a reality, guided by the principles that had made WCBR successful.

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Thane and Dennis began by reaching out to leaders in their professional and personal networks to learn directly from the community that the BCBR program would ultimately serve.

Thane’s network drew from his extensive experience in Silicon Valley and included mentors from Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Stanford business school classmates, venture capital and private equity firm partners, and executive recruiters. Dennis looked to both his personal and professional networks—which, due to the fact that he was raised in a predominantly Black community, comprised a large number of Black professionals—as well as champions within SCU, including the WCBR network.

On June 30, 2020 Shellye Archambeau, an experienced CEO whose board memberships include Verizon, Nordstrom, and Okta, responded to a blind communication from Dennis on LinkedIn requesting advice on the program concept. She was preparing for the launch of her book, Unapologetically Ambitious, and referred Thane and Dennis to Robin Washington—a high-powered CFO and board member at companies including Alphabet, Honeywell, and SalesForce—who agreed to an exploratory conversation. 

Following that conversation, Robin introduced Thane and Dennis to Barry Lawson Williams, a board member of Management Leadership for Tomorrow and creator of the Black Corporate Directors Time Capsule Project. Barry eagerly supported BCBR and introduced them to Ken and Caretha Coleman and numerous other corporate directors, many of whom said, “If Barry is in, I’m in.” By the end of August, Thane and Dennis had engaged with dozens of corporate directors, who encouraged them to move forward with the BCBR program.

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Yes. In September 2020, Thane and Dennis formed a BCBR Program Advisory Board to guide on strategy, help hone the BCBR program design, and build the BCBR community.

The first cohort of BCBR launched in February 2021, in honor of Black History month. The inaugural cohort was oversubscribed (the initial goal was to reach at least half capacity of 25 for the first cohort) with 28 Black executives.

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In the first 12 months of the BCBR program, 82 participants were graduated from three cohorts. A fourth cohort was graduated early in the second year of the program, and additional cohorts continue to be recruited and scheduled.

With guidance from the BCBR Program Advisory Board, the co-founders set the outcome metric as new public or private corporate board placements following program matriculation.

From the outset of program planning, the co-founders recognized that accomplishing their board placement goals required helping the concentration of talented leaders being graduated from the program to find appropriate public or private corporate board director positions.

The co-founders, Program Advisory Board, and everyone involved with the BCBR is committed to continue expanding the community and its impact with the goal of authentic corporate board inclusion and excellence.