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Directorship Magazine / How Boards Can Strengthen Whistleblowing Oversight

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From Hotline to Headline: How Boards Can Strengthen Whistleblowing Oversight

By Vera Cherepanova

03/10/2026

Risk Oversight Corporate Governance Member-Only
Key Points

  • Boards must ensure whistleblowing systems are robust, independent, and capable of escalating allegations against the CEO or executive team promptly, with clear investigation protocols to prevent missed warnings.

  • Preparedness through periodic simulations, defined crisis roles, and rapid impact assessment enables boards to respond proportionately and decisively to misconduct allegations while maintaining stakeholder trust.

  • Post-crisis, boards should review lessons learned, strengthen controls and culture, and communicate transparently with employees to reinforce organizational justice and avoid perceptions of double standards.

This AI-generated summary, based on content on this page, was reviewed by NACD editors for accuracy.

As CEO departures due to personal misconduct increase, directors can use this guidance to strengthen their response to whistleblower reports involving the executive team. 

In September 2025, Nestlé faced a governance crisis after whistleblower reports submitted through its “speak up” hotline led the company to investigate undisclosed conflicts of interest involving CEO Laurent Freixe. The board ultimately dismissed Freixe one year after hiring him for failing to disclose a relationship with a subordinate, which breached Nestlé’s code of conduct. This, compounded by perceptions that the board’s response fell short of expectations, made shareholders question the quality of ...

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Vera Cherepanova

 

Vera Cherepanova is executive director of Boards of the Future and chairs the Global Forum for Governance, Risk and Performance at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

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