Marentis Labs Research · 2026
The Architecture of
Governance Failure
More governance has not produced better governance. This 90-page research paper documents why, traces the structural defects through high-profile case studies, and presents the architectural response.
Inside the Paper
Three Arguments That Change
How Boards Price Their Governance.
Spending Has Tripled. Failure Rates Have Not Fallen.
The paper opens with high profile documented case studies, including Boeing, Wirecard, Silicon Valley Bank, the Post Office, and Credit Suisse. Cumulative direct losses exceed $150 billion. Each failure occurred inside a full governance stack: board, audit committee, internal audit, external auditor, regulator. Volume was never the constraint.
Compliance Governance Was Built for the Wrong 19%.
Across 669 listed companies in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland between 2018 and 2024, 80% of severe corporate crises were driven by strategy and external risks. The paper diagnoses the three structural defects that leave the other 80% unmonitored: episodic engagement, consensus dependency, and the absence of institutionalised challenge.
The Cost Is Not the Write-Down. It is the Years That Follow.
Twenty-four months after a severe corporate crisis, affected firms had, on average, recovered only their pre-crisis share price. The broader market had advanced 15%. The resulting twelve-point gap is permanent loss of relative market position. The paper reframes governance investment against this gap, not against the event itself.
MARENTISLabs
Strategic Governance as a Service ·
Principal-Led · Adversarial by Design
Strategic Governance
as a Service:
More Governance
Has Not Produced
Better Governance
This Paper Explains Why
And Proposes A Solution
90 Pages · Insightful Case Studies
Boeing, Wirecard, SVB, Post Office, Credit Suisse and others.
Owen Vallis, Former Group Chief Risk Officer & INED
Credit Suisse · J.P. Morgan · Morgan Stanley · SICO Bank
Multi-Jurisdictional Regulatory Practice
FCA, PRA, FINMA, CSSF, CBB, SCA, NAO, CMA, and BaFIN.
Download the Paper
Fill and submit the form to download the full white paper
Ninety pages of practitioner research. Relevant case studies. Empirical, well sourced evidence. Regulatory analysis across the UK, EU, and US. The four-tier architecture through which Marentis Labs delivers continuous adversarial challenge at board level. Your details stay with us, handled under our Privacy Notice. No spam. No unsolicited outreach.
PDF · 90 pages · Written for FTSE 350 boards, PE portfolio companies, and regulated entities · Unsubscribe at any time
From Diagnosis to Engagement
The Methodology in the Paper,
Delivered Through Four Tiers.
Diagnostic, Retained, Embedded, and Pre-Exit. Each tier is structured for the governance maturity of the organisation entering at that point. Each builds toward the next.
Diagnostic SGaaS
Governance Architecture Assessment
A 4–8 week structured diagnostic assessment. The entry point for boards weighing sustained engagement.
T2Retained SGaaS
Continuous Principal-Led Challenge
Annual retainer. Continuous governance intelligence between board cycles. The core SGaaS offering.
T3Embedded SGaaS
Independent Board Observer
Permanent board-level presence with contractual challenge authority. Multi-year commitment.
T4Pre-Exit SGaaS
Exit-Aligned Governance Uplift
12–18 months pre-exit. Removes the governance gaps a buyer's diligence team would use to chip the price.
Author
Owen Vallis - Managing Director, Marentis Labs Ltd
Former Group Chief Risk Officer with twenty years of governance and risk management experience across Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and SICO Bank. Non-Executive Director, Active Prospects, Office of the Children's Commissioner and EdAct Trust. Multi-jurisdictional regulatory practice: FCA, PRA, FINMA, CSSF, CBB, SCA, NAO, CMA, and BaFIN.
Full credentials →