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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Apr 2010
Directors social impact
I recently had the pleasure of hosting our NSW Fellows Lunch in Sydney, where we launched important new research throwing light on the enormous contribution the director community makes to Australian society through its involvement in not-for-profit (NFP) organisations, incl...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2010
Q&A with Howard McDonald
On a muggy Melbourne morning, Howard McDonald MAICD arrives just in time for his interview with Company Director. The Myer Holdings chairman had been in meetings about the proposed café for Myer’s soon-to-be redeveloped flagship store. “I want the food offering to be bu...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2010
Zilla Efrat
details some changes that may affect boardroom decisions on leasing.
The shifting leasing landscape
Significant accounting changes are looming that could affect companies that lease anything from offices, warehouses and machinery to motor vehicles, trucks and photocopiers.
...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Mar 2010
Is a school board right for you?
Domini Stuart
investigates the ABCs of venturing back into the school yard.
Back to school
Joining a school board
The legal duties can be the same as other boards
Running schools can be extremely complex
Financials are always very tight
Due...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2010
The global financial crisis provided a brief respite in the war for talent.
Janine Mace
investigates how boards can assist as conditions on the battlefield heat up again.
As the war heats up
Recruitment trends
With the GFC out of the way, directors will ne...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2010
A boom in IPO activity is expected, which could stimulate director appointments this year. But as
Tony Featherstone
discovers, directors accepting an IPO board position may not fully appreciate what they are getting into.
Starting from scratch
The challenges of an IPO board inclu...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2010
Mary Verschuer
examines the challenges faced by Australian directors following the recent Copenhagen climate summit.
Post-Copenhagen climate change challenges
The outcome of the Copenhagen climate summit was somewhat less than expected. Many hoped for some certainty about the cons...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Feb 2010
John Barrington
discusses how a “Breakthrough” board can be developed to create strategic advantage.
The Breakthrough board
Three Ts of the “Breakthrough” board
Tone from the top: The chairman promotes and lives the strategic perspective
Take the time: The board builds the agenda...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2009
Letters to the editor
Thanks for the inspiring article about Anne Robinson in her role as World Vision chairman (Company Director, November 2009).
I sponsor two children through World Vision and it was a pleasure to read that the charity is based on Christian principles as none of the literature I ...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Dec 2009
Five directors predict how the role of non-executive directors will change in the next decade.
NEDs of 2020
Catherine Harris AO PSM FAICD
Chairman of Harris Farm Markets. Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Australian Japan Foundation, National Gallery of Australia and the Australian S...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2009
Director turnover is at its lowest in several years.
Tony Featherstone
provides some reasons for this and explains why this situation will soon change.
The low down on director turnover
After such a tumultuous two years, board turnover should be rising sharply. It is not. New dir...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Nov 2009
Domini Stuart
discusses how the board can help a company reshape itself in good or bad times.
Redrawing the lines
In tough times, boards should:
Be proactive
Bring in advisers sooner rather than later
Talk to management regularly
Demand frequent finan...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Oct 2009
The science is still in its infancy, but as
Domini Stuart
reports, having high emotional intelligence or EQ could make you a better director.
What’s your EQ?
Key points
Emotional intelligence:
Is still in its infancy as a science
Is about the intelligent use of emotions
Helps di...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Oct 2009
John M Green
suggests boards ditch the old short-termist penny-farthing corporate model.
Penny-farthing companies
Just as cyclist Lance Armstrong owes the industrial revolution for the penny-farthing, investors should thank it for the freely registrable limited liability corporation.
Sin...
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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 Jul 2009
Tony Featherstone argues that organisations should not forget values and culture when making tough decisions in a harsh economic environment.
Upholding values and culture
A friend was recently made redundant due to corporate downsizing. By his own admission, he was no star, but hardworking and...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Jun 2009
Tony Featherstone
discusses how smaller companies can build up their arsenal, draw up their war plans and harness their troops to take on the downturn.
Plotting your moves
In downturns, smaller companies should:
Review the battle grounds carefully
Update their combat strategies
Anticipa...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Jun 2009
News & Views
The importance of timely disclosure
Timely disclosure of changes to directors’ interests is vital to good corporate governance and helps maintain investor confidence in market integrity, notes Eric Mayne, chief supervision officer of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
“Dire...
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Content Type:
CDM Article
01 Jun 2009
Tony Featherstone
ponders what the board should do if the founder is no longer the right person to run a venture in a changing operating environment.
Unseating the founder
Directors of fast-growth small companies face a significant challenge: some must decide whether the entrepren...
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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...