We do not vote for them, we do not see them on the campaign trail, and we rarely know their names. Yet they make decisions that affect our daily lives. Because not all power is exercised from the presidential palace or Congress. There are decision-making spaces that do not go through elections or public debate, but from which decisions are made that directly influence our everyday lives.
Many of those decisions are not visible to the general public, but their impact is tangible. They affect the quality, safety, and sustainability of the products we consume, the technology we use every day, how a company responds when we face a problem, or how our personal data is managed.
Far from improvisation, these decisions are built through deliberation, the exchange of perspectives, and risk assessment, with responsibility for long-term consequences. As in public policy design or legislative debate, decisions about our present and future are also made here—though with less visibility and, generally, less scrutiny.
That process takes place in the boardroom. It is there that corporate governance ceases to be an abstract concept and becomes a concrete exercise of power.
Recognizing that power does not mean questioning the legitimacy of companies; it means acknowledging that wherever there is power, there must be responsibility. That is why corporate governance matters. Because the way boards function—as the central axis of that governance—can make the difference between companies that build trust and those that erode it; between those that create sustainable value and those that put it at risk.
Corporate governance is not a checklist or well-drafted policies; it is the way a company, through its board, defines who it wants to be and how it wants to operate in its environment, based on values and principles. This is where governance becomes tangible and where good practices stop being an ideal and become an essential condition for exercising power with judgment.
That tangible nature of governance is expressed above all in board dynamics—how the board actually operates. What matters is the ability to lead deliberation, to build consensus without silencing dissent, to ask the right questions, to sustain uncomfortable conversations, and to create a space where relevant decisions are neither postponed nor rushed for convenience. Here, the role of the board chair is critical—not as a symbolic figure, but as a guarantor of deep discussions, balance among voices, and an agenda that prioritizes critical issues and anticipates trends to respond in a timely way without losing competitiveness.
It is also reflected in the composition of the board itself. Meeting formal requirements or boasting prestigious careers is not enough if there is no real diversity of perspectives, genuine independence, and competencies aligned with the challenges of the business and its environment. When voices are too similar and agreements come quickly and comfortably, deliberation is impoverished and power is exercised without the checks and balances that legitimize it.
Governance is further strengthened when the board holds itself to the same standards it applies to management. Evaluating its own performance, strategic contribution, and decision-making processes is not a sign of weakness, but of institutional maturity. The same applies to continuous education and to strong committees that allow for deeper work on risk, audit, compliance, technology, or sustainability.
In contexts of technological disruption, regulatory pressure, and accelerated social transformation, exercising power well requires continuous learning. Boards that do not update themselves or incorporate new capabilities make decisions with incomplete information, jeopardizing not only the company, but also all those who interact with it.
The great challenge of corporate governance is to give structure, meaning, and limits to the power exercised from boardrooms. Because governance is not the board itself, but the way that space decides, is overseen, and assumes responsibilities that go beyond the company and reach all those affected by its decisions.
By Susana Sierra
Published in La Tercera
