While we acknowledge that executive com- pensation is a factor in corporate “short termism,” what if the amount of pay is not the problem we think it is? Could it be that the subtleties of compensation design today push executives to take a “get rich and get out” approach—including some pay reforms that we hoped would encourage a long-term focus.

As American boardrooms have strengthened the status of lead directors (and, increasingly, split the roles of CEO and chairman), this board leadership evolution has driven many governance changes. One question remains unresolved: How should we set the pay for an independent chairman, a lead director, or executive chairman?