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    ICGN'15: Official welcome

    Conferences Governance Performance
    Alderman Alan Yarrow, Right Honourable The Lord Mayor, City of London provided the official welcome address straight after the ICGN AGM. Yarrow's speech was short and sharp, and it was delivered with great enthusiasm. Looking back over the last twenty years, Yarrow observed that while much appeared to have changed in the corporate governance world, much more had not. He went on to suggest that, with the benefit of hindsight, many seemingly good decisions made in good faith actually had unintended consequences. For example, many of the reforms introduced in the 2008–2010 period in response to the GFC did not deliver the expected benefits. Rather than tidy up company operations and reporting regimes, they have decreased liquidity, increased the rate and extent of change; and, increased the volatility of markets. An enlightening observation.
    Baroness Neville-Rolfe spoke after The Lord Mayor. Neville-Rolfe is a recently re-elected Conservative MP in the British House of Commons. Her speaking engagement at ICGN was her first 'outing' (to use her word) since the election results were confirmed. She claimed to be in listening mode, to find out what was going on and to learn about emerging trends in the world of commerce. More specifically, the Baroness invited the corporate community to express its view and to make recommendations. However, the Baroness was not without opinions herself. Having issued the invitation, she went on to suggest that the following attributes are important for 'good governance'.
    • Help determine and contribute to the enterprise's success
    • Ensure fairness (reigns)
    • Promote transparency
    • Require CEO remuneration
    Together these two speeches were as wonderful as they were brief. They set the scene for the conference very well. I could have listened to these two speakers for longer, but sadly their time was at a premium.
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    ICGN'15: AGM summary

    Conferences Governance Performance
    If you are anything like me, Annual General Meetings do not normally feature as compelling events in your calendar. AGMs are often boring sequences of compliance-oriented voting, with little if any inspirational or aspirational commentary. Most of the time, I give AGMs a wide berth. However, as a new ICGN member, I decided to attend the AGM to hear the discussion, and I'm pleased for the experience. The chairman, Erik Breen ran a good meeting and every resolution was carried.
    On first contact, the ICGN feels like 'just another' corporate governance body. However, having listened through the AGM, I was pleasantly surprised to find:
    • ICGN is a genuinely international network of like-minded professionals, the usage of network (cf. organisation) being intentional
    • The multi-national context of ICGN provides opportunities to engage regionally- and nationally-based entities in discussions in ways that would not otherwise be possible
    • That ICGN has a  clearly defined (and annunciated) aim, which is to influence (policy), communicate (networking) and inform (provide guidance and education)
    While the ICGN was birthed out of the investor community (53% of the membership today is from this community) to support multi-national investment activity, a trend away from investor dominance is readily apparent. The organisation has a clearly stated goal of reducing the dominance of the investor membership increasing corporate and individual membership. 
    One minor disappointment was that there was little mention of individual directors during the AGM. Rather, the focus was on the investor/advisor community—indicative language being 'investors', 'advisors' and 'the company'. This led me to wonder about the ICGN's commitment to championing the task of directing and to holding directors accountable for doing their job properly.
    The outgoing deputy chairman and finance committee chairman, Frank Curtiss, was recognised for his significant contribution of many years. Anne Simpson received the ICGN Award having been nominated by Sir Adrian Cadbury and Nell Minnow amongst others. This very popular decision was well received by the assembled membership.
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    International Corporate Governance Network: Annual conference starts today!

    Conferences Leadership Research
    I have arrived in London ahead of the International Corporate Governance Network conference which starts today. The organisers have prepared a full three-day programme (agenda here), based at Guildhall (an historic building in central London).  Further details are available here.
    I'll post summaries here during the conference. Please contact me if you'd like to meet up during the conference, or if you want to know about a particular presentation.
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    EURAM: conference programme now available online

    Conferences Governance Management Phd Research
    The 15th European Academy of Management (EURAM) annual conference will be held in Warsaw, Poland on 17–20 June. The conference programme is now available online. Over 1200 delegates have registered to attend, to hear about the latest developments in management research and the implications for practice.
    I am looking forward to attending what promises to be a very interesting (and busy!) conference. EURAM is the third of three international conferences that I will be attending in June. In addition to listening to as many of the corporate governance papers as possible and meeting with colleagues, I have two formal commitments, as follows:
    • Chair the second corporate governance session, entitled Boards of Directors: Outside/Non-executive directors, on Thu 18 June.
    • Present my paper, entitled Boards, strategy and business performance: Observations from inside the boardroom, in the afternoon session on Thu 18 June.
    If you would like to receive more information about any of the papers, please let me know. I will do my best to attend the appropriate session and write a report.
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    International Corporate Governance Network: Annual Conference

    Conferences Governance Performance Research
    The 2015 edition of the International Corporate Governance Network annual conference is just a week away (3–5 June). This year, ICGN will be celebrating 20 years of governance change and reform. Hosted by the City of London, the conference is being held at the historic Guildhall. The organisers have assembled a fantastic programme. Over 650 delegates have registered to hear 80 speakers discuss a wide range of topics:
    • Sustainable capital market reform: what needs to be done?
    • The board of the future: will it be fit for purpose?
    • Share ownership in a global context—is stewardship working?
    • Human rights: what are investors expected to know and do
    • Driving accountability across the voting chain
    I will be at the conference (as a delegate only this year). Summary reports will be posted here, so please check back next week for updates. If you want to meet up at the conference, contact me to make an arrangement.
    The ICGN annual conference is the first of three conferences that I'm attending in June. I will also be at the International Governance Workshop (11–12th, Barcelona, Spain) and the European Academy of Management conference (17–20th, Warsaw, Poland), to present the latest findings of my research and discuss implications for boards. Copies of my papers are now available.
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    Three conferences in three weeks, starting in 13 days

    Conferences Governance Leadership Performance Phd Research
    Here's the trip schedule:
    In just under two week's time (June 1), I embark on another trip to England and Europe. The main purpose of this trip is to attend three important corporate governance conferences, to contribute to the emerging conversation. Many of the world's leading advisors, company directors and academics will be at the conferences. I am honoured to be speaking at two of them. 
    June 2
    June 3–5

    June 8–9
    June 11–12
    June 15
    June 17–20
    June 20
    Arrive in London
    International Corporate Governance Network Conference, London
    (click to set up meeting at conference)
    Available in London or nearby (Want to meet? Get in touch)
    International Governance Workshop, Barcelona (my paper abstract)
    Limited availability in London (Want to meet? Get in touch)
    European Academy of Management, Warsaw (my paper abstract)
    Return to New Zealand
    If you are interested in a specific conference presentation but cannot attend, please let me know. I'll try to attend for you and post a report. Conference updates will be posted here and on Twitter during the conferences, so check back if you are interested.
    I'm looking forward to reconnecting with #corpgov friends and associates, making some new connections and testing some of the ideas that have emerged from my research work. Much coffee will be drunk, no doubt! If you'd like to meet up, at a conference or separately, please get in touch.