The Institute’s series of biennial corporate governance conferences (CGCs) has been going for over two decades. They have a remit to ask the hard questions that need to be asked about the practice of good governance in the current and emerging business environment. Our latest CGC, the 13th in the series and held in hybrid mode on 23 September 2022, certainly delivered on that promise.
One such question revisited throughout the day’s discussions was how the roles of governance professionals need to evolve to help organisations navigate the higher expectations from both stakeholders and regulators relating to issues such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and technology governance. The forum also had a consistent answer to this question – governance professionals can play a critical role as agents of change. Promoting good governance in all of its forms, not only where it relates to compliance with the rules, will be one of our key values in the complex, and considerably less forgiving, business environment we have now entered.
The cover stories of this edition of CGj review the forum, highlighting all the key takeaways from the day’s discussions. I won’t steal any thunder from the articles ahead of you, but I would like to deliver on last month’s promise to properly thank everyone who contributed to the conference.
I would like to thank our Guest of Honour, Nicolas Aguzin, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, and Professor Mervyn King SC, Chairman Emeritus, The International Integrated Reporting Council, who gave our CGC its opening and closing addresses, respectively. In addition, I would like to thank our stellar lineup of speakers and panellists, who contributed their insights and generated a very lively discussion on the topics covered.
I would also like to thank our very able conference team for their hard work. We have our Event Chair, Peter Greenwood FCG HKFCG, and Institute Deputy Chief Executive Mohan Datwani FCG HKFCG(PE), to thank for their vital behind-the-scenes work in coming up with the theme for the forum and structuring the event to maximise the opportunity for lively audience participation. Moreover, they were able to assemble a top-level cast of speakers and panellists, drawn not only from Hong Kong but from all over the world, to ensure that the event delivered on its remit to provide the best available thought leadership.
Master of Ceremonies at the event was April Chan FCG HKFCG, Institute Past President, Inaugural President of Corporate Secretaries International Association Ltd (CSIA), and Chairman, Technical Consultation Panel. Thanks should also go, of course, to our other senior members and to Professor Frederick Ma Si-Hang GBS JP, who chaired the four sessions of the forum, and to our Secretariat staff who did an excellent job of ensuring the event ran smoothly.
Finally, I would like to thank our sponsors and supporting organisations. In particular our platinum sponsors CLP Holdings Ltd and PricewaterhouseCoopers, our silver sponsors Nasdaq Governance Solutions and Tricor Hong Kong, and our bronze sponsors the Companies Registry, Egon Zehnder and Link Asset Management Ltd.
Our CGC 2022 covered a lot of ground and our review of the event will be published across two editions of this journal. Look out for the final part of this review in next month’s journal. Meanwhile, I would like to leave you with a final thought. A consistent theme of the conference was that corporate governance is not, and has never been, about good public relations. Stakeholder expectations in the emerging business environment will not be satisfied by ‘spin’. The organisations that will survive and thrive in the years ahead will be the ones that opt for authenticity over publicity, integrity over hype.
One such question revisited throughout the day’s discussions was how the roles of governance professionals need to evolve to help organisations navigate the higher expectations from both stakeholders and regulators relating to issues such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and technology governance. The forum also had a consistent answer to this question – governance professionals can play a critical role as agents of change. Promoting good governance in all of its forms, not only where it relates to compliance with the rules, will be one of our key values in the complex, and considerably less forgiving, business environment we have now entered.
The cover stories of this edition of CGj review the forum, highlighting all the key takeaways from the day’s discussions. I won’t steal any thunder from the articles ahead of you, but I would like to deliver on last month’s promise to properly thank everyone who contributed to the conference.
I would like to thank our Guest of Honour, Nicolas Aguzin, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, and Professor Mervyn King SC, Chairman Emeritus, The International Integrated Reporting Council, who gave our CGC its opening and closing addresses, respectively. In addition, I would like to thank our stellar lineup of speakers and panellists, who contributed their insights and generated a very lively discussion on the topics covered.
I would also like to thank our very able conference team for their hard work. We have our Event Chair, Peter Greenwood FCG HKFCG, and Institute Deputy Chief Executive Mohan Datwani FCG HKFCG(PE), to thank for their vital behind-the-scenes work in coming up with the theme for the forum and structuring the event to maximise the opportunity for lively audience participation. Moreover, they were able to assemble a top-level cast of speakers and panellists, drawn not only from Hong Kong but from all over the world, to ensure that the event delivered on its remit to provide the best available thought leadership.
Master of Ceremonies at the event was April Chan FCG HKFCG, Institute Past President, Inaugural President of Corporate Secretaries International Association Ltd (CSIA), and Chairman, Technical Consultation Panel. Thanks should also go, of course, to our other senior members and to Professor Frederick Ma Si-Hang GBS JP, who chaired the four sessions of the forum, and to our Secretariat staff who did an excellent job of ensuring the event ran smoothly.
Finally, I would like to thank our sponsors and supporting organisations. In particular our platinum sponsors CLP Holdings Ltd and PricewaterhouseCoopers, our silver sponsors Nasdaq Governance Solutions and Tricor Hong Kong, and our bronze sponsors the Companies Registry, Egon Zehnder and Link Asset Management Ltd.
Our CGC 2022 covered a lot of ground and our review of the event will be published across two editions of this journal. Look out for the final part of this review in next month’s journal. Meanwhile, I would like to leave you with a final thought. A consistent theme of the conference was that corporate governance is not, and has never been, about good public relations. Stakeholder expectations in the emerging business environment will not be satisfied by ‘spin’. The organisations that will survive and thrive in the years ahead will be the ones that opt for authenticity over publicity, integrity over hype.
