Post by FGS Global

What does it take to lead through a crisis — not in theory, but in practice? FGS Global recently brought together 30 board directors and senior executives in Hong Kong for a conversation on board leadership in crisis: candid, specific, and at times uncomfortable. Exactly as it should be. Jointly hosted with Meraki Executive Search & Consulting and moderated by Kirsten Molyneux, Partner at FGS Global, the event drew on the experience of May Tan, a seasoned board director and former CEO of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), and Christine Graeff former Director General of Communications at the ECB and Global Head of Communications at Credit Suisse, now Global Chief Growth Officer at FGS Global. A few things that came out of the conversation: • Crisis readiness is not a playbook. It's a mindset. Knowing what a crisis is and what isn't matters as much as protocols. Boards that treat every issue as one requiring immediate response create noise, not resilience. • Role clarity is everything. When a crisis breaks, the question is rarely "what happened?" It's "who needs to do what?" The separation between who manages the crisis and who continues running the business needs to be defined before the pressure arrives. • Regulator relationships are built in advance. The day you need the regulator's help is not the day to introduce yourself. • The board's value is outside perspective. When something goes wrong, the board's role is to ask the right question: what is the actual impact on this company's reputation and business? Time brings optionality. Judgment matters more than speed. Thank you to May Tan and Christine Graeff for the honesty and specificity that made this conversation worth having, and to everyone who joined the discussion. #FGSGlobal #ThoughtLeadersClub #CrisisCommunications