Guest Dell Posted December 27, 2017 at 03:32 AM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 03:32 AM Can a husband and wife be members of the same board? Wouldn’t this be a conflict, especially when it comes to voting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Katz Posted December 27, 2017 at 03:49 AM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 03:49 AM Yes to the first, and no to the second, unless your rules provide otherwise. A conflict of interest is a personal or pecuniary interest not shared in common with other board members. Possibly sharing some interests with another board member is, by definition, not a conflict of interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted December 27, 2017 at 05:59 AM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 05:59 AM Agreeing with Mr. Katz, RONR has no prohibition against a husband and wife (or any other family members) serving together on a board or as officers. Any such prohibition would have to be in your own bylaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted December 27, 2017 at 02:38 PM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 02:38 PM (edited) 11 hours ago, Guest Dell said: Can a husband and wife be members of the same board? Wouldn’t this be a conflict, especially when it comes to voting? It is conceivable that the board members will have a conflict on particular motions (as could other board members), but I do not follow why thIs would be a conflict of interest on everything that comes before the board. In any event, no rule in RONR prohibits it. If you don’t think they should serve, don’t vote for them. Edited December 27, 2017 at 02:38 PM by Josh Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Katz Posted December 27, 2017 at 04:13 PM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 04:13 PM 1 hour ago, Josh Martin said: It is conceivable that the board members will have a conflict on particular motions (as could other board members), but I do not follow why thIs would be a conflict of interest on everything that comes before the board. Can you give an example? I'm having trouble picturing it, for this reason: at most, the two board members will have a convergence of interests with each other, which is not an interest not in common with others, it's an interest in common with one other board member. Not only does that happen all the time (all the members share an interest in the success of the organization, e.g.), but it's not a conflict. Of course, they'd be conflicted if the organization considered buying their home at an above-market rate, but if only one were on the board, they'd have the same conflict. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Novosielski Posted December 27, 2017 at 06:41 PM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 06:41 PM ...and anyone who thinks they would always vote the same way has probably never been married. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted December 27, 2017 at 07:09 PM Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 at 07:09 PM (edited) 2 hours ago, Joshua Katz said: Can you give an example? I'm having trouble picturing it, for this reason: at most, the two board members will have a convergence of interests with each other, which is not an interest not in common with others, it's an interest in common with one other board member. Not only does that happen all the time (all the members share an interest in the success of the organization, e.g.), but it's not a conflict. Of course, they'd be conflicted if the organization considered buying their home at an above-market rate, but if only one were on the board, they'd have the same conflict. The example I was thinking of was if one of them owns a company which seeks to do business with the organization, in which event both of them will have an interest not in common with other members. Certainly, the same interest would exist if only one served on the board. I agree that the fact that they are married and both serving on the board does not itself create any personal or pecuniary interests not in common with other members. Edited December 27, 2017 at 07:12 PM by Josh Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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