Directors’ College, now in its thirty-first year, is the nation’s premier executive education program for directors and senior executives of publicly traded firms. The program addresses a broad range of problems that confront modern boards, including the board’s role in setting business strategy, CEO and board succession, crisis management, techniques for controlling legal liability, challenges posed by activist investors, boardroom dynamics, international trade issues, the global economy, and cybersecurity threats.
Directors’ College awards recertification credits to directors working toward maintaining their NACD Directorship Certification®.
Program Directors
W. A. Franke Professor of Law and Business, Stanford Law School; Faculty Co-Director, Rock Center for Corporate Governance; Professor of Finance (by courtesy), Stanford Graduate School of Business; and Senior Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Robert Bartlett is the W. A. Franke Professor of Law and Business and faculty co-director of the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School. He is also Professor of Finance (by courtesy) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Senior Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
Professor Bartlett has written widely in the area of law and finance, with a particular emphasis on venture capital finance, market structure, corporate governance, mandatory disclosure, and capital market regulation. His work has appeared in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Journal of Legal Studies, the Business Lawyer, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Vanderbilt Law Review, among many other venues. At Stanford, Bartlett teaches Corporate Finance, Securities Regulation, and Venture Capital Finance.
Bartlett earned both his B.A. and J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard.
Lisa Edwards
Director, Colgate-Palmolive and Qualtrics
Lisa Edwards is a seasoned finance and technology executive and operator with deep experience in scaling growth companies, go-to-market, cybersecurity, SaaS and digital transformation.
She was Executive Chair of Diligent Institute and was previously President and COO of Diligent Corporation. She joined Diligent from Salesforce as EVP of Strategic Business Operations reporting to the co-CEO, managing global sales strategy, IT, partnerships, ISVs, Industries and enablement. At Visa, Inc she led global partnerships as SVP/Head of Global Strategic Alliances & IP.
Her career began as a strategy consultant with Bain & Company. She was a repeat entrepreneur, as CEO of KnowledgeX (sold to IBM) and co-founder of Valubond, a fintech firm acquired by Knight Capital.
Lisa received a BA (Stanford), an MBA (HBS), and an MS in Cybersecurity(NYU). She serves on the Board of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL), LogicMonitor, Qualtrics and Zededa (private) and the advisory board at SmithPoint Capital. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Colleen Honigsberg
Dean of Curriculum and Professor of Law, Stanford Law School; Faculty Co-Director, Rock Center for Corporate Governance; Member, SEC Investor Advisory Committee
Colleen Honigsberg is Associate Dean of Curriculum and Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, where her research is focused on the empirical study of corporate and securities law. Her recent papers have examined gaps in the regulatory environment for financial advisors, carbon accounting, human capital accounting, and the incentive structure for auditors. Her research has been featured in major mainstream publications such as the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times, and her scholarship has been published in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Law & Economics, the Stanford Law Review, and the Journal of Accounting Research. She currently sits on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee.
Prior to joining the faculty in 2016, Professor Honigsberg received her Ph.D. from Columbia Business School and her J.D. from Columbia Law School. She has expertise in accounting and previously worked as a Certified Public Accountant for PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services and for Compass Lexecon. In addition, she previously served as a Senior Economic Research Fellow with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Joseph A. Grundfest
Director Emeritus, Stanford Directors’ College; W.A. Franke; Professor of Law and Business, Emeritus, Stanford Law School; Senior Faculty, Rock Center for Corporate Governance
Joseph A. Grundfest is a nationally prominent expert on capital markets, corporate governance, and securities litigation. His scholarship has been published in the Harvard, Yale, and Stanford law reviews, and he has been recognized as one of the most influential attorneys in the United States. Professor Grundfest founded the award-winning Stanford Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, which provides detailed, online information about the prosecution, defense, and settlement of federal class action securities fraud litigation. Professor Grundfest previously served as a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission and on the staff of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors as counsel and senior economist for legal and regulatory matters.
Adam Sterling
Associate Dean of Executive Education and Strategic Partnerships
Adam Sterling is the Associate Dean of Executive Education and Strategic Partnerships. He oversees training and development programs for alumni, legal professionals, and organizational leaders. Adam also supports key initiatives and partnerships across the campus and throughout the broader legal community.
Before joining Stanford Law in 2025, Adam was an Assistant Dean at Berkeley Law and was the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. He has also taught courses and overseen research on topics including venture capital, entrepreneurship, corporate governance, artificial intelligence, and leadership.
Prior to academia, Adam was a startup and venture capital attorney at Gunderson Dettmer and the co-founder of the Sudan Divestment Taskforce and Conflict Risk Network. In 2007, Adam was one of six featured subjects in the documentary, Darfur Now, produced by Don Cheadle. Adam’s writings and work have appeared extensively in the press; including contributions to The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle. He also serves on the board of a number of nonprofit organizations.
Adam received his J.D. and M.B.A. from U.C. Berkeley. He received his B.A. in African American Studies and Political Science from U.C.L.A.