Under the AICD’s Innovate RAP program, the organisation is committed to improving representation of First Nations people in Australian boardrooms and building a community of First Nations governance leaders. As part of that work, the AICD First Nations Governance Advisory Forum began discussions in June this year. Here, we outline the aims of the forum and acknowledge the members taking part.
The AICD First Nations Governance Advisory Forum held its first meeting on 25 June. Its aim is to promote discussion on issues of importance to First Nations directors and provide opportunities for dialogue about governance/practice matters directly affecting First Nations directors and First Nations AICD members. Forum members include:
Justin Agale MAICD, AICD First Nations Sector Lead
Ian Hamm MAICD, chair Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and First Nations Foundation, board member AICD and ACNC
Brad Welsh GAICD, CEO and MD of Energy Resources of Australia, director at nib Holdings and nib Health Funds
Steve Rossingh GAICD, CEO of Miwatj Health
Emma Garlett, director First Nations consultancy Garlett Group, an Industry Fellow at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at the University of Queensland, board member of the Indigenous Legal Issues Committee
Lauren Ganley GAICD, head of Telstra First Nations Strategy and Engagement, member of the AICD’s NT Division Council
Organisational representatives on the forum include Indigenous Business Australia, the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) and the Australian National University (ANU).
Agale said the forum will meet twice a year, position itself as a unique voice on First Nations issues in the governance community and develop strategic engagement within the sector. AICD Roundtable events were held earlier this year with First Nations members from different sectors.
“We hope through the forum to build a network of meaningful strategic partnerships and a community of First Nations governance leaders to guide the development of effective governance,” said Agale. “Through our AICD First Nations Director Scholarship Program, we aim to create and develop a director pipeline to provide for a diverse First Nations community of director-ready people to provide stewardship for organisations both First Nations and non-First Nations.”
AICD CEO and managing director Mark Rigotti said, “The AICD is conscious we needed to increase our direct engagement with First Nations stakeholders and this forum is one way we are doing that. The formation of the forum is another step on our Reconciliation journey and is consistent with our mission to strengthen society through world-class governance.”
Responsibilities of the forum include:
Identifying issues of relevance to First Nations directors that warrant further AICD attention
Providing feedback on AICD activities and issues put to the forum by the AICD
Assisting the AICD to formulate, review and comment on policies relevant to the governance of First Nations directors.
Expecting the unexpected
Subversive technology — in the shape of cyber, deep fakes and AI, for example — is the biggest concern for directors preparing for corporate crises of the future. At a recent AICD webinar, more than half of the polled participants rated this well ahead of unexpected regulatory enforcement (16 per cent), while activist shareholders and stakeholders were ranked the lowest concern at three per cent.
Readiness for a future crisis is key, with the need for rapid decision-making — often with limited information to hand as an event unfolds — necessitating rigorous planning, training and collaboration, said Michelle Lawson MAICD, a non-executive director at the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
“Effective governance and strategic crisis management planning can not only overcome the challenges, but you can also emerge stronger and even set new industry benchmarks,” said Lawson. “The board’s role is really crucial. While crises can sometimes be unpredictable, it’s the quality of implementing robust crisis management plans, maintaining transparent communication and engaging in those proactive risk management discussions and trials that can significantly influence an organisation’s recovery.”
Boards need to understand the data being presented to them during crisis planning and must be able to challenge management when need be, said Prudence Bennett GAICD, a partner at Brunswick Group. “Investors are very focused on crises and how a crisis may test the quality of the board,” said Bennett, noting the impact on company value can be enormous. “We’re doing continual research with investors to find out what drives their investment decision-making and the number-one issue is the quality of management and the board. They’re hoping the issue should be able to be managed.”
Potential impact on brand and reputation is another consideration from an investor perspective because reputational measures are being incorporated in the remuneration determinations that investors vote on annually. The board needs to be across the investor relations function — and have confidence that they have built a sound relationship with their key institutional investors. “The term ‘investor’ is not homogeneous, and it is important to understand that,” said Bennett.
The crisis landscape is very different and so much broader than in the past. Regarding technology, information that people gather today could be decrypted in the future, and therefore become public knowledge, said Richard Dodsworth AAICD, managing partner at RJD Advisory.
“The information we once thought was private, using the current sort of encryption technologies, will be broken through the use of quantum computing. That’s a huge risk. From a board director’s perspective, we need to think about working with our vendors and suppliers on using new encryption technologies to be able to fight against the threat of quantum.”
However, he also noted the danger of the board spending so much time thinking about what might be possible that it detracted from exploring any innovation the business could invest in.
The panel identified climate change and sustainability, the mental health of employees and the rise of SaaS cloud-based services as potential crisis issues that could be given more attention.
John Macpherson, a partner at Ashurst Risk Advisory, noted planning was essential to align crisis planning with your risk framework. “Make sure you know who’s responsible for the crisis management plan — and that the board has a defined role,” said Macpherson. “Part of that role is playing devil’s advocate. Poke and prod the testing and know that continuous improvement and culture are really critical.”
Access the recording of the Expecting the unexpected: Preparing for the corporate crises of the future webinar and upcoming webinars here.
King’s Birthday Honours
AICD members recognised in 2024.
ACT
Sue Bodell PSM MAICD
Jane Evans OAM GAICD
Vidoshi Jana PSM GAICD
Justin Jones AO CSC RAN GAICD
NSW
Peter Agnew AM GAICD
Penny Browne OAM GAICD
Robert Kelly AM FAICD
Lisa Kervin AM GAICD
Stephen O’Doherty OAM MAICD
Nicolette Rubinsztein AM FAICD
Annette Ruhotas Morgan AM MAICD
Talal Yassine AM FAICD
QLD
Ros Curtis AM GAICD
Elizabeth Kendall AM MAICD
Michelle Lees PSM GAICD
Glenn McGrath AO GAICD
Wendy Waller OAM GAICD
SA
Katina D’Onise AM GAICD
TAS
Michael Bailey OAM MAICD
VIC
Robin Campbell AM MAICD
Sherene Devanesen AM GAICD
Jo Douglass AO MAICD
Bob Gartland OAM MAICD
Chris Gillies AM FAICD
Sharon Goldfeld AM MAICD
Christopher Hall AM MAICD
Mon Hamilton PSM MAICD
Chris Hardman AFSM GAICD
Denise Heinjus OAM AAICD
Anne Kavanagh OAM MAICD
Alison Kitchen AM MAICD
Jason Loos PSM GAICD
Robyn McLeod AM FAICD
Richard Niessl CSC MAICD
Margaret O’Rourke OAM FAICD
Kristine Olaris OAM MAICD
David Olsson AM GAICD
Gavin Thompson AFSM AAICD
Leonard Vary AM FAICD
Bill Whitford PSM FAICD
WA
Suzanne Ardagh AM FAICD
Janice Bell AM GAICD
Asha Bowen OAM GAICD
Marion Hailes-MacDonald PSM GAICD
Lisa Rodgers PSM MAICD
Peter Rossdeutscher AM FAICD
This article first appeared under the headline 'First Nations Governance Advisory Forum’ in the August 2024 issue of Company Director magazine.
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