National Association of Corporate Directors Launches Campaign to Strengthen Corporate...

National Association of Corporate Directors Launches Campaign to Strengthen
Corporate Governance and Oversight of Nation's Corporate Boards

Campaign Aims to Restore Public and Investor Confidence in Corporate America

WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the National Association
of Corporate Directors (NACD) launched "America's Challenge for Corporate
Directors: Renew Commitment to Corporate Governance and Oversight Excellence,"
a nationwide campaign challenging every corporate board and individual
director to restore public and investor confidence in publicly traded
companies by strengthening corporate governance and oversight of America's
corporations.

"NACD believes corporate boards and their directors must lead the charge in
improving board performance and corporate oversight," said Kenneth Daly,
president of NACD. "'America's Challenge for Corporate Directors' is a roadmap
for boards to assess current practices and make improvements where needed."

The campaign urges boards to:
-- Embrace NACD's Key Agreed Principles to Strengthen Corporate
Governance for Publicly Traded Companies and use them as a framework
for
assessing board practices and as a tool that can be adapted to each
board's specific needs
-- Assess the board's practices with an emphasis in four critical
areas: executive compensation, risk oversight, corporate strategy and
transparency
-- Commit to continuous director education and knowledge exchange around
the Key Agreed Principles and around leading practices and emerging
issues that have been identified by NACD's White Paper Series
-- Provide greater transparency by annually sharing board progress on
these
commitments

"If we as a nation are to emerge from the present economic crisis, confidence
in Corporate America must be restored," said Bonnie Hill, lead director of the
Home Depot. "NACD's campaign provides the framework for boards to renew their
commitment to outstanding corporate governance and oversight excellence, which
are essential to rebuild America's trust in businesses."

The result of 18 months of collaboration between NACD, hundreds of corporate
board directors, dozens of business leaders and the government, this campaign
is centered on board action -- getting boardrooms across America actively
involved in the process of restoring public and investor confidence. This call
to action is meant to serve as a roadmap that every corporate board can use.
Every quarter, NACD will publish on its website and in its print publication
those corporate boards that have accepted the challenge. Annually, NACD will
provide public recognition in the form of a "Seal of Excellence" to NACD
boards that report that they have fulfilled NACD's commitments.

"We, who are directors, have a key role in restoring trust in corporate
America," said Barbara Hackman Franklin, chairman of the board of NACD and a
director of Aetna and Dow Chemical. "I urge every corporate board to heed
NACD's call and join the effort."

About NACD
Founded in 1977, the National Association for Corporate Directors (NACD) is
the only member-based nonprofit organization for corporate directors providing
tools, professional support and the platform for making corporate directors
more effective in boardrooms across the country. With nearly 10,000 members,
NACD improves director performance by educating and empowering members through
training, publications and an extensive knowledge base of information. NACD
fosters collaboration among directors and governance influencers to shape the
future of corporate governance.

For more information, visit www.nacdonline.org/DirectorChallenge.

SOURCE National Association of Corporate Directors

Jenni Brewer, +1-703-741-7047, jbrewer@golinharris.com, for National
Association of Corporate Directors