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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2013
It is very difficult to train, audition or prepare for the role of chairman. Tony Featherstone provides tips on how aspiring chairmen can design a path to the busiest boardroom job.
Some directors were born to lead boards. Bill d’Apice, a lawyer, has chaired more than a dozen in a distin...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2013
Louise Pocock provides some tips on how a board can help management strike a balance between short-, medium- and long-term horizons.
An effective board will generally adopt strategies that manage and strike a balance between short-, medium- and long-term horizons. That is, it will pay att...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2013
Fiona Baron discovers that serving on a professional services firm’s board is all about leading by consensus and influence, rather than relying on authority or positional power.
Professional services firms are overwhelmingly about partnerships – partnerships of highly specialised individ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2013
When is it time for an underperforming CEO to go and how should the board handle the termination? Tony Featherstone investigates.
Only one board job is harder than hiring the right CEO: firing your most important executive. Persevering too long with the wrong CEO inevitably sees the board...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2013
Karen Barker provides some tips on how to recognise the signs of burnout and to help yourself or others overcome it.
Almost 25 per cent of executives and many directors are experiencing burnout – some without even realising it. What’s more, the more senior the sufferers are, the less like...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2013
Having been involved in the restructuring of the then troubled Centro property group, Susan Oliver suggests some ways in which directors can improve the success rate of their decision-making and value they contribute in the boardroom.
In November 2012, the Australian Securities and Invest...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
Directors and boards occasionally may need to consider seeking independent professional advice in order effectively to deal with an issue and it is considered good practice to have policies and procedures in place to do so. This Q&A runs through the legal and corporate governance issues as well ...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
Joining any board is an important step regardless of the type of organisation or your level of experience. Yet many directors take this step without sufficient reflection on the possible risks in terms of personal financial liability and reputational damage, and without sufficient investigation of t...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
The board is responsible for ensuring that it has represented on it the skills, knowledge and experience needed to effectively steer the company forward. Directors will be appointed to the board because their specific skills, knowledge and experience will fill particular gaps on the board. It is imp...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
A board needs to have a broad mix of skills and experience to be effective. The key goal in selecting directors is to build a mix that can work as a well-rounded team in fulfilling its duties and responsibilities. A formal and transparent procedure for the selection, appointment and re-appointment o...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
The CEO is the more senior executive in the organisation. The Managing Director is also the most senior executive but sits on the Board of Directors as well. This Q&A outlines the main aspects of the MD's/CEO's role and the differences between them as well as executive service agreements and del...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
An effective board is crucial to the success of an organisation and it must have the right mix of skills and knowledge to work effectively. This Q&A discusses ways to improve board effectiveness including board composition and diversity, relationships within the board, internal processes and per...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
The board has the responsibility of assessing the performance of the CEO and has a vested interest in ensuring the CEO is effective. This Q&A explains the process of how to conduct an appraisal, how often they should be carried out and other considerations to take into account to ensure a good r...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
Advisory boards provide non-binding strategic advice to organisations. Unlike statutory boards required by the Corporations Act 2001, they are informal in nature and therefore have greater flexibility in how they are set up and managed. This Q&A describes the role of advisory boards, when a comp...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
This outlines how many directors companies should have
The company's constitution governs the number of directors and may provide for a variation of that number.
Is There a Prescribed Maximum Number of Directors?
There is no prescribed maximum number of directors. The ASX CGC Corporate ...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
The rights of company directors centre on enabling them effectively to perform their duties. Rights are set down in either a company’s constitution or in the Corporations Act 2001’s replaceable rules. This Q&A outlines these directors' rights, including the right to receive internal information,...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
A productive and harmonious relationship between the board and management is critical for good governance and organisational effectiveness but can be difficult to achieve in reality. The board and management are trying to achieve the same vision and objectives so a partnership based on trust and res...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2012
Pru Bennett lists five ways in which she’d like to see the bedrocks of corporate governance improved in 2013.
Proxy season is always an intensive period for everyone involved. BlackRock, for instance, votes at around 250 listed company meetings between September and December. We have exte...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2012
Michael Robinson forecasts how director and executive pay will move next year and provides a “to do” list to help remuneration committees steer their way through 2013.
Director pay in 2013
Unlike executive pay, the rate of pay increase for non-executive directors (NEDs) is expected to...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2012
Organisations cannot just shrink themselves to success. As Greg Hyde argues, short-term attempts to cut costs can heighten risks and can be much like squeezing a balloon and expecting it to get smaller.
Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap, the corporate cowboy of the 1990s, was one of those infamous CE...