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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2013
Jac Nasser, described as a chairman of chairmen, talks to Tony Featherstone about succession planning, leadership development, board composition and other governance matters at the world’s biggest mining company.
It is easy to judge boards only on big events: the CEO appointment, successi...
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Content Type:
Director Q and A
31 Jan 2013
The chair acts as an important link between the board and the CEO/company. The role of the chair is not defined in the Corporations Act 2001. Thus many functions of the chair are customary rather than formalised by law. This Q&A outlines the role and responsibilities of the chairman both inside ...
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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
Since the global financial crisis, there is an increased expectation that the performance of boards and individual directors will be regularly appraised. This is reflected in Principle 2.5 of the ASX CGC Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. This Q&A runs through who and what will...
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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 Aug 2010
John O’Neill tells
Tony Featherstone
why he is once again putting everything on the line for the Australian Rugby Union.
Back in the scrum
After 13 years as a top sports administrator, John O’Neill FAICD is as hard as a rugby scrum. The fo...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 May 2010
Proxy advisers have come under attack recently, accused of being poorly resourced, not having the expertise to handle complex issues and using a tick-the-box approach.
Tony Featherstone
weighs into the debate and discovers there are two sides to the story.
Too much sway...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 May 2010
John M Green
suggests it may not be the proxy advisory firms that are the problem, but some of the institutions that hire them.
Proxy by proxy
During each year’s annual general meeting season, directors come out blasting at corporate governance proxy advisory firms. It’s mostly d...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Aug 2009
Letters to the editor
I read Tony Featherstone’s article on ‘Unseating the founder’ (Company Director, June 2009) with great interest. As with any good article, the title was provocative and the content worthy of reflection. Here are a couple of probing questions that add to those raised in the art...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Jun 2009
Tony Featherstone
investigates why the founders of some family owned companies resist forming a board, and the benefits they may be missing out on.
Opening the family board to NEDs
Key points
A family company board poses unique challenges
Founders struggle w...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 May 2009
Tony Featherstone
argues that entrepreneurs need to be taught to think about boards much earlier in their venture’s development.
Encouraging start-up governance
I recently asked a group of entrepreneurship students about their views on boards. The response: complete silence. To be fair, ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2009
Zilla Efrat
provides some tips on how to better plan the board’s annual calendar.
Designing the annual calendar
Designing the annual board calendar isn’t rocket science. But by doing a bit more than just replicating last year’s calendar, you can ensure that your board has more mea...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2008
James Lau
provides 10 strategies that could help your organisation thrive in a downturn.
How to thrive in a recession
In times of subdued demand and economic turbulence, companies can fall from the top positions in their sector. Recent examples include Lehman Brothers and Babcock ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Sep 2008
Just like a marriage, the relationship between boards and CEOs can have its ups and downs.
Domini Stuart
provides tips on how to nurture and build this union, and on how to end it if all else fails.
Through thick or thin
At best, the relationship between a company’s board of dire...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Aug 2008
Ken Moss
discussed the role that power and authority play in a board’s relationship with its CEO at a recent AICD lunch in Perth. Here’s an excerpt of what he had to say.
Power and authority in the boardroomMany political figures have hung onto power for perhaps too long, including the li...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2008
With grey clouds rapidly gathering on the economic horizon,
Domini Stuart
provides some tips on how to weather the storms they carry.
Battening down the hatches
The heat is on. Fallout from the US subprime crisis has brought an end to an unprecedented period of prosperity and gro...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2008
A seemingly insatiable hunger for corporate information may be encouraging a tendency towards short-termism. Janine Mace examines whether Australian companies are dishing up too much data to investors on their outlook.
Don’t super size me
The current reporting season has opened on a subdued no...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2008
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Domini Stuart examines the differences between sitting on private and public sector boards.
A peek at the other side
Until directors are replaced by robots, no two boards can possibly operate in exactly the same way. Nevertheless, there are...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2008
AICD’s International Company Directors Course helps directors and senior executives to ease over the barriers that make cross border operations difficult.
Stepping over global boundaries
...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2008
Richard Hewson
explains how the subtleties of human comfort zones can upset the relationship between CEOs and boards.
Discomfort zone
Is the relationshipbetween your board and your CEO as effective as you would want? When the board and the executives of an organisation are not...