Brisbane 2032 chief executive Cindy Hook to step down when her contract ends
Cindy Hook will leave the Brisbane 2032 organising committee when her four-year contract ends, as recruitment for a successor starts immediately.
The Leadership Desk
Editorial Staff
The Leadership Desk covers governance, boards, executive careers and how New York companies are actually run. Reporting under this byline is produced by the editorial staff of Manhattan Standard.
Articles by The Leadership Desk
SEB names deputy Jonas Ahlström acting CEO after Johan Torgeby resigns
SEB's board named deputy CEO Jonas Ahlström acting chief executive after Johan Torgeby resigned on 6 October 2026, and started a search for a permanent successor.
French 10-year bond yields hit highest since 2002 as Lecornu's budget nears a vote
France's 10-year borrowing costs hit their highest level since 2002 as investors doubt PM Lecornu's ability to pass €54 billion in spending cuts with a fragmented parliament.
Paid FeatureAlex Ashton and the Agency Eight Cofounders Are Building Influence That Lasts
How an Amazon-trained engineer and a community-first marketer turned creator seeding into one of New York's most closely watched consumer-brand agencies.
Paid FeatureGeorgia Austin, Founder of Wordbrew, Is Building the Content Engine Behind Authority-Led B2B Brands
The London-trained copywriter who scaled a freelance practice into a multi-company portfolio is betting that AI will make human expertise more valuable, not less.
Why 42% of S&P 500 Firms Still Combine CEO and Board Chair Roles
Board oversight versus decision-making speed creates a persistent governance tradeoff. Most public companies now split the roles, but the pattern still favors unified command in larger firms.
Why non-binding say-on-pay votes still cut executive compensation
Dodd-Frank requires an advisory vote on executive pay, but boards respond anyway. Here's why the threat of failure shapes compensation, and when weak votes trigger change.
How Apple's Succession Prepares Ternus for Hardware, Not Strategy
Apple's new CEO John Ternus brings 25 years of hardware engineering but faces geopolitical complexity and AI competition that his predecessor managed for 15 years.
SponsoredMonique Lester on the Business Lessons Hidden Inside a Modeling Career
Monique Lester spent years learning presentation, teamwork and resilience on set. Now the Australian model is applying those lessons to her lingerie brand.
Why a poison pill dilutes any hostile bidder's stake into irrelevance
Boards can adopt shareholder rights plans to make hostile takeovers prohibitively expensive by diluting an acquirer's stake. Courts require proof of a legitimate threat under the Unocal standard, not mere activist concerns.
Chubu Electric's Leaders Resign Over Falsified Earthquake Assessments
Chubu Electric's president and chairman resigned after the company falsified earthquake assessments.
What the RAISE Act Requires From Company Boards
The RAISE Act requires large AI developers to publish safety frameworks and report incidents. All boards should establish AI governance structures to manage risks.
What Preferred Stockholders Actually Get When They Fund Your Startup
Venture investors take preferred shares that come with liquidation priority, dividend rights and conversion powers. Founders should understand what they're negotiating away.
What Founders Should Understand About Vesting Schedules and Acceleration Clauses
Founder equity vests over four years with specific mechanics. Acceleration clauses can materially change outcomes when companies are acquired or founders depart.
How boards tie executive pay to revenue, profit and stock returns
Compensation committees use financial metrics and equity awards to align executive incentives with shareholder returns. How performance targets are set and what measures dominate.
How founders use share class structures to maintain voting control
Multi-class shares, vesting schedules, board seats and protective provisions work together to let founders retain influence even as investment dilutes their ownership.
How CEO compensation packages combine cash, equity and perks
Public company executives receive salary, performance bonuses, stock awards and perquisites. Boards benchmark against peers and manage shareholder scrutiny through say-on-pay votes.
Why Franklin BSP Realty Trust brought back its old CEO after seven months
Michael Comparato resigned as CEO of the New York mortgage REIT after seven months, and Richard Byrne, the man he replaced, is back in the job.
What Morgan Stanley's 184 new managing directors actually show
Morgan Stanley promoted 184 people to managing director for 2026, a 6% rise from last year that still trails its 2022 class of 199.
How New York's LLC transparency law ended up covering almost no New York LLCs
A 2023 law meant to unmask anonymous LLC owners took effect January 1, but a federal rule change and a veto left it covering only foreign-formed LLCs.
Paid FeatureScaling with Soul: Natalie Magee Is Disrupting the Personal Branding Playbook
The founder of WOMAN OF Network™ is building a community for faith-led women who want to grow their influence and income without giving up their identity.
The Succession Question Family Businesses Get Wrong
Most family business succession failures are not about choosing the wrong successor. They are about never separating three decisions that look like one.
What A New York Non-Compete Can And Cannot Do
The enforceability question has moved repeatedly in recent years. Here is the framework courts apply, and why the clause in your contract may be weaker than it reads.
How New York Executives Actually Get On Boards
Board seats are not advertised. The pathway is more structured than it looks from outside, and most of it happens before anyone is considered.
What A Chief Of Staff Actually Does
The role is defined by the executive it serves, which is why it succeeds and fails so unpredictably.
How Executive Compensation Is Actually Set
The mechanism is benchmarking, and benchmarking has a well-documented ratchet built into it.
What A Board Actually Does In A Crisis
The board's job is not to manage the incident. Confusing the two makes both worse.
How To Structure A Co-Founder Agreement
The conversation is uncomfortable now and considerably worse in eighteen months.
When A Founder Should Hire Someone Else To Run The Company
The question is not competence. It is whether the job the company now has is the job you want.
What Actually Happens When Founders Disagree
Deadlock is a structural condition, not an emotional one. It has structural solutions.
How To Negotiate A New York Job Offer
Salary ranges are now disclosed by law, which changes what the negotiation is actually about.
What A Severance Agreement Really Says
You are being asked to sell something. Understanding what makes the price negotiable.
How To Change Industries Mid-Career
The obstacle is rarely capability. It is that hiring processes are built to screen for exact experience.
How To Run A Performance Review That Actually Helps
The annual review fails for structural reasons. Most of them are fixable without abolishing it.
How To Manage A Hybrid Team Without Two Classes Of Employee
The risk is not productivity. It is that proximity quietly becomes a promotion criterion.
What To Do When You Inherit A Team
The first ninety days set the terms. Most new managers spend them demonstrating rather than learning.
What An Executive Education Program Actually Buys
Sometimes the teaching. Frequently the network and the signal. Knowing which you want changes the choice.
Why Corporate Training Rarely Changes Anything
Not because people forget. Because they return to an environment that rewards the old behavior.
How To Build An Apprenticeship That Works
The difference between an apprenticeship and cheap labour is whether anyone is responsible for the teaching.