Culture as a Compass – Directors & Boards

This story is based on Marissa Andrada’s appearance on the Executive Session podcast.

In the boardroom, culture is often viewed as intangible — something you know when you see it, but difficult to define or measure. For Marissa Andrada, however, culture is far more than a soft concept. It is a core strategic driver that determines whether a company can sustain long-term growth and weather inevitable crises.

“When a company sets its strategic ambitions, whether in turnaround or growth, part of that North Star has to be about who you are as a company and what you stand for,” says Andrada, who serves as director and chair of the remuneration and nominating governance committee of Krispy Kreme. “That purpose and those values become the compass.”

Culture as Strategy

Andrada emphasizes culture cannot be an afterthought or a set of slogans. It must be woven into the heart of corporate strategy. Boards, she notes, play a critical role in ensuring management integrates purpose and values into the business plan. “If strategy is about where you’re going and how you’ll get there, purpose and values are the lens of truth you measure yourself against,” says Andrada.

Directors, she argues, should evaluate whether management is embedding values into decision-making and execution. That requires looking beyond financial metrics to assess engagement, retention and whether employees feel connected to the company’s purpose. “It’s not only about the what, but the how,” says Andrada. “Purpose and values equal culture, and that’s what provides the rules of engagement for how employees show up every day.”

To Andrada, boards should ask management to demonstrate that cultural alignment is being measured as rigorously as financial outcomes. This might include engagement surveys, turnover statistics and customer experience metrics, all of which link back to the stated purpose and values.

Accountability for Long-Term Growth

What role should boards play in ensuring management aligns long-term growth with culture? For Andrada, the answer is clear: Boards must hold leadership to account not only on shareholder returns, but also on how growth reflects company values.

“At the end of the day, board service is about creating shareholder and stakeholder value,” says Andrada. “Yes, you measure that through share price and EPS. But when management is setting strategy and incentive measures, the basis has to be purpose and values. All of it needs to be aligned.”

She points to the importance of ensuring long-term incentive plans include goals that encourage not only financial performance, but also adherence to the organization’s values. “When the two are aligned, you create a foundation for sustainable growth. Without that, growth can flame out.”

Values in Times of Crisis

Andrada believes values guide leadership during crises. Drawing on her experience at Chipotle during the COVID-19 pandemic, she describes how the company’s values became a decision-making lens in an environment with no playbook.

“Purpose is who we are and why we exist. Values are what we stand for — our non-negotiables,” says Andrada. At Chipotle, those values included, “The line is a moment of truth,” “Teach and taste the details” and “The movement is real”. Each value guided both customer experience and employee engagement. When COVID-19 hit, management asked hard questions: Do we keep employees working? Do we maintain their pay? Do we honor bonus commitments when managers had no control over the pandemic’s impact?

The answer, says Andrada, was yes — because the values demanded it. “We asked, can we afford to do this? But the real question was, how can we not afford to do this?” Upholding those commitments, she argues, kept employees engaged, ensured customer experience remained strong and reinforced the company’s identity in the face of uncertainty.

She believes companies that remained true to their values during COVID-19 emerged stronger, with employees and customers who trusted them more deeply. “The character of a leadership team is measured in the tough times,” says Andrada. “Values provide the consistency and clarity that enable organizations to navigate crises without losing their way.”

The Board’s Insurance Policy

For directors, Andrada sees values as a part of risk mitigation — a kind of insurance policy that protects against drift during volatile times. “When companies get clarity on strategy and values, they can focus on what they have control over, rather than reacting to everything outside,” says Andrada. “That’s what holds companies firm.”

The role of the board, she adds, is to ensure management keeps that clarity top of mind. Directors must pressure-test whether leadership is making decisions consistent with stated values and whether those values are resilient under stress. “That’s how you mitigate risk and ensure accountability,” says Andrada.

A Compass for the Future

With a shifting geopolitical and regulatory environment, Andrada expects new challenges will continue to test boards and management teams. But she remains convinced that purpose and values, if integrated into strategy, provide a durable compass.

“Values should serve customers, shareholders and employees alike,” says Andrada. “They create alignment around what’s most important and they ensure that, in the hardest times, decisions still reflect the company’s identity.”

For boards, culture is not peripheral, but central to governance. Directors must demand evidence that management is embedding culture into strategy, measuring its impact, and staying true to it in good times and bad. As Andrada concludes, “It’s your insurance policy for ensuring the organization stays focused on what it’s accountable for.”

In the end, culture is not just an intangible “feel” factor. For boards that take their fiduciary and oversight roles seriously, culture is measurable, actionable and inseparable from sustainable strategy.

Marissa Andrada will be appearing at The Character of Corporation 2025, which will take place on November 18, 2025, at The University Club in New York City. She is one of three panelists who will discuss “New Rules, Old Boards: Is Governance Due for a Reboot?” Check out the Character of the Corporation agenda and register today!