Directors need to guide, not govern, says Rob Campbell 2 Dec 2015
Related articles
- NZ consumers grow more upbeat, may resume spending Business
- Knowles quits as CEO of KiwiBank Business
- NZ migration bolstered by British invasion Migration
- NZ manufacturing activity reaches highest since 04 Business
- NZ dollar hits 22-month high vs euro Business
- OceanaGold finds new gold deposits at Fraser mine Business
- Transpower gets go-ahead for $170m SI upgrade Business
- NZ home sales creep up in March, still subdued Property
- NZ economy expands at fastest pace in two years Business
- New Zealand food prices fall in February Business
Directors need to guide, not govern, says Rob Campbell
By Sophie Boot
Dec. 2 (BusinessDesk) - Professional director Rob Campbell says governance should be "banished from directors' vocabularies" and that boards need to become more hands-on and work more closely with company management.
The former trade unionist, who chairs NZX-listed Summerset Group, Tourism Holdings and Precinct Holdings, as well as P2P lender Harmoney, and who sits on the numerous boards of NZX-listed, private and non-profit entities, spoke this afternoon at a Future Auckland Leaders alumni dialogue session on leadership in governance.
"Be a director, not a governor," Campbell told attendees. "We hear a great deal about governance these days. Everyone seems to have an opinion about good and bad governance. I see that NZX has made a further contribution on the topic today. My view is that seeing the function of a board as governance is seldom useful even in a very big business. The cynic in me wonders whether 'good governance' is simply what we observe before something significant goes wrong, and 'bad governance' is what we comment on afterwards."
"In my view once a board sees itself as governing it has distanced itself from the value creation process," said Campbell. "Have you ever heard of a high performing, value adding team that responded to or was driven by governance? Try words and concepts like leadership, guidance, diligence and partnership and you might get a whole lot closer to adding value."
Campbell questioned whether a board and board members could meet their legal obligations to the company if they took a governance approach. "Any director who has considered the depth and hands-on nature of their obligations in respect of health and safety or issuance of new securities will find it very hard to maintain the distinction between governance and management so beloved of governance experts. You and management are in this together."
"Most business needs activist, effective, participant directors," Campbell said.
Campbell's comments come a month after Shareholders’ Association director Des Hunt said momentum for change in board diversity is gaining speed after being initially slow to build. The association set up the Future Directors scheme, along with Warehouse founder Stephen Tindall and Vector chairman Michael Stiassny, as it had concerns about the size of pool of qualified people able to take on senior governance positions.
The Future Directors scheme lets candidates observe and participate on a company board for a year (without voting rights) while exposing the company to prospective directors they may not have considered before.
MightyRiverPower chair and former Fairfax Media New Zealand chief executive Joan Withers said, when the scheme began, that young people are under-represented in the boardroom, and has since reiterated that point when talking about increasing gender diversity on boards.
“The whole point is to drive the executive team and board to avoid the pitfalls of group think,” Withers said in October this year. “One of the challenges as we get older is to make sure the average age on boards reduces from where it was 15 to 20 years ago when a certain amount of people saw it as a reward for their executive career and stayed on the board forever.”
(BusinessDesk)
News
Hilary Timmins' Award-Winning UK Documentary Series To Inspire NZ Students
29 Jun 2020 Education
Dream Catchers, produced and directed by Hilary Timmins, celebrates the success stories of more than thirty inspirational New... more
New Zealand reaffirms support for Flight MH17 judicial process
7 Mar 2020 News
Ahead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to... more
Business
NZ Government's Economic package to fight COVID-19
17 Mar 2020 Business News
The Coalition Government has launched the most significant peace-time economic plan in modern New Zealand history to cushion the... more
NZ Government announces aviation relief package
19 Mar 2020 Business News
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today outlined the first tranche of the $600 million aviation sector relief package announced earlier... more
Living
Diversity was Key at New Zealand Trade Tasting in London
6 Jun 2022 Food & Wine
New Zealand Winegrowers Annual Trade Tasting was recently held in London, on Wednesday 4 May, in Lindley Hall.
It was the first... more
Kiwi author stuns Behind the Butterfly Gate
12 Jan 2022 Arts
Hidden behind the Butterfly Gate is where the secret has been kept for 76 years...
New Zealand writer Merryn Corcoran’s... more
Property
Fairer rules for tenants and landlords
17 Nov 2019 Property
17 NOVEMBER 2019
The Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer... more
New Zealand Government will not implement a Capital Gains Tax
17 Apr 2019 Property
The Coalition Government will not proceed with the Tax Working Group’s recommendation for a capital gains tax, Jacinda Ardern... more
Migration
Boosting border security with electronic travel authority – now over 500,000 issued
19 Nov 2019 Migration
19 NOVEMBER 2019
We’ve improved border security with the NZeTA, New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority, which helps us to... more
Christchurch reinstated as refugee settlement location
18 Aug 2018 Migration
18 AUGUST 2018
HON IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY
The announcement that Christchurch can once again be a settlement location for refugees... more
Travel
Gallipoli Anzac Day services cancelled
19 Mar 2020 Travel & Tourism
The New Zealand and Australian Governments have announced this year’s joint Anzac Day services at Gallipoli will be cancelled... more
New Zealanders advised not to travel overseas
19 Mar 2020 Travel & Tourism
New Zealanders advised not to travel overseas
more
Sport
The Skipper's Diary: Sir Richard Hadlee honouring his father and NZ's Forty-Niners
27 Oct 2019 Cricket
NZNewsUK London Editor Charlotte Everett spoke to Sir Richard Hadlee about why he’s chosen to publish his father’s... more
PREVIEW: All Blacks v England semi-final
26 Oct 2019 Rugby
The two most convincing quarterfinals winners are set to square off in a semifinal showdown for the ages when the All Blacks meet old... more
Columns
Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade
11 Nov 2016 Opinion
Gordon Campbell on the Gareth Morgan crusade
First published on Werewolf
The ghastly likes of Marine Le Pen in France and Geert ... more
Gordon Campbell on the US election outcome
10 Nov 2016 Opinion
Column - Gordon Campbell
Gordon Campbell on the US election outcome
Well um.. on the bright side, there (probably)... more
Kiwi Success
Congratulations to Loder Cup winner
26 Sep 2018 People
25 SEPTEMBER 2018
The Loder Cup, one of New Zealand’s oldest conservation awards, has been awarded to Robert McGowan for 2018... more
Appointments to New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
16 Aug 2018 Appointments
16 AUGUST 2018Appointments to New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO
HON JENNY SALESA
Associate Education Minister Jenny Salesa is... more
Recruitment
Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
14 Aug 2018 Recruitment
14 AUGUST 2018Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
HON CHRIS HIPKINS
Prime Minister
The... more
Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
22 Aug 2018 Recruitment
14 AUGUST 2018Historic pay equity settlement for education support workers
RT HON JACINDA ARDERN
HON CHRIS HIPKINS
Prime Minister
The... more