Towards a New Model of Boards of Directors

Since the 2008 big financial crisis, governments around the world have introduced stronger regulation and standards of behavior for board directors and senior managers. Moreover, the number of new codes of corporate governance approved since then has skyrocketed. Despite these efforts, most of the recent corporate crises still have their roots in corporate governance and the decision-making process of the boards.

Adding to this situation, dramatic disruptions of the world economy are placing increasing pressure on boards of directors. Technology transformation, deglobalization, rising geopolitical risks, climate change, social activism and activist investors have coalesced to create unique challenges to companies and society.  In this complex context, effective corporate governance becomes essential, not only to protect investors, but to help develop the companies in the long term to create prosperity for many.The 2024 IESE - ECGI Corporate Governance Conference is designed to reflect upon the recent experiences of boards of directors design and effectiveness, and consider the competencies and capabilities that the boards of directors of the future should have to truly improve the quality of the firm’s governance.

With this in mind, the 2024 IESE - ECGI Corporate Governance Conference will focus discussion on the following issues:

• The role of purpose and strategy in the board’s effectiveness
• Board dynamics and the board as an effective team
• Interactions between the board and the firm’s shareholders
• How the board should deal with new disruptive realities such as climate change, digital transformation and geopolitical risks
• The board and the CEO succession process

As in previous IESE - ECGI Corporate Governance Conferences, we would like to count on innovative contributions from leading scholars coming from different fields: strategic management, corporate finance, corporate governance, organizational behavior and leadership. In particular, the cross-sectional nature of boards of directors makes this approach indispensable to make further progress in understanding this critical institution of governance. We also plan to have some CEOs discussing some of the academic papers and their implications in the real world, as well as a panel of chairpersons and CEOs to discuss these issues in depth from a practical perspective.

This in-person, one-day Conference will be held at IESE, Madrid Campus on April 15, 2024.