It seems like if the goal of the board is to represent the shareholders and be independent of management, isn’t the best way to align this incentive system is for them to hold shares? The book seems to focus on independence of business relationships with management, which is fine and I get, but why isn’t a major requirement the owning of shares?
This would be because of the same issues that arise when managers have large portions of their wealth tied to shares. It may cloud their judgement when evaluating risky projects. One of the goals of the board is to ensure the best interests of (all) shareholders come first.