Summit spotlights the 'private side' of governance.

• Position: Conference news

Family business owners and directors joined with other owners of closely held and private equity-owned businesses for the inaugural Private Company Governance Summit, sponsored by Directors & Boards and Family Business magazines. The summit took place May 15-17, 2013, at the Fairfax at Embassy Row in Washington, D.C.

An evening reception on May 15 kicked off the summit. The program opened on May 16 with a brief discussion of "The Value of Boards for Private Companies" hosted by Tom McGee, national managing partner, Deloitte Growth Enterprise Services, Family Business Magazine editor-in-chief Barbara Spector and Directors & Boards editor James Kristie. The opening day's panels addressed such topics as "Private Company Boards--One Size Doesn't Fit All"; "Private Board Roles, Committees and Independence"; and "The Effective Private Board." A trio of breakout sessions focused on matters particularly pertinent to family-controlled companies, private equity-owned companies, and closely held companies having an eventual intent to sell or go public.

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The summit's first day included a luncheon keynote address by Harry Kraemer Jr., an executive partner with private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners. Kraemer, who is also a clinical professor of management and strategy at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, offered insights into private equity investors' expectations as company owners, and he also drew upon his book, From Values to Action [Jossey-Bass], to share keen insights on values-based leadership. The day concluded with a dinner keynote delivered by John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of leading U.S. corporations. Engler, a former governor of Michigan, is a director of Universal Forest Products Inc. and K12 Inc.

May 17 opened with a keynote G&A session conducted by Jim Kristie with Dennis Cagan, principal of Caganco Inc., which explored his experience as a board member of 49 high-tech and start-up companies. Two panels then followed: "Private Company Director Service: Risks and Responsibility," moderated by Lisa Jones, worldwide private commercial product manager for Chubb Specialty Insurance, examined liability risks faced by directors in connection with their board service...