On July 06, 2024, the following Professional Development Program for Board Members “Corporate Director”, conducted by the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Institute with the support of CGPA, was completed.
During the first module, Oleksandr Okuniev (Chairman of the CGPA Board of Directors), Taras Kyrychenko (member of the Supervisory Board of Nova Poshta, co-founder of the angel syndicate TOLOKA), Iryna Starodubova (Associate Partner of Capital Times), Oleksiy Dolgikh (Managing Partner of the Ukrainian office of Boyden Global Executive Search), Oleksandr Onufrienko (attorney, PhD, specialist in corporate law) – in a very professional and simple way conveyed to the participants the features and benefits of good corporate governance in companies. They focused on the process of building a strategy in a company and finding new opportunities. The interaction of the company with investors, in particular, the development and implementation of a business financing strategy, as well as the issue of investment instruments to increase the value of the company, were analyzed in detail, using cases and practical experience of each speaker. The Supervisory Board in a company is an engine that must work effectively and set the entire company on the right and balanced course through coordinated work and the creation of a proper corporate culture for sustainable business development. The issue of selecting the company’s CEO and concluding an agreement with him/her was considered separately.
The participants actively discussed cases and engaged in teamwork. They also shared their experience in overcoming current challenges and choosing strategies for developing their companies.
As part of the program, a roundtable was organised to discuss the issue of liability insurance for board members in Ukraine and abroad. This issue is currently high on the agenda of many large Ukrainian companies, which are increasingly engaging foreign specialists for whom liability insurance is a “must have” without which they do not start working.
During the second module, Nadiia Vasylieva (member of the Supervisory Boards of JSC CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK and SE Prozorro.Sale) presented an overview of the main innovation trends in business that every Board member should be aware of, spoke about different types of innovations and innovation strategies, in particular, technological trends in business, and emphasized that the Board of Directors is always a collegial body that must work in a coordinated and effective manner to implement innovations successfully. Ms. Vasylieva then focused on how the Board should organize its work with innovations within the company.
Peter Zashev (Adjunct Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Director of Corporate Training Programs at Hanken School of Economics, Member of the Board of Directors of Alu-Releco International (Finland)) spoke about the role of the Board as a carrier of the company’s corporate culture and what the Board should do in this direction. He emphasized the practical importance of corporate culture for the company’s business success and emphasized leadership as the engine of corporate culture from the Board’s point of view. The program was continued by Volodymyr Igonin (Partner, Head of Corporate/M&A Practice at Vasil Kisil & Partners), who spoke about the regulation of relations between business shareholders through a corporate agreement and the role of the Board in this process.
The next block was devoted to boards in small and medium-sized businesses and was led by Sergiy Bulavin (TERRAMET Advisory Board Member, Chairman of the Agropartner Advisory Board, CEO of AgroGeneration) and Dmytro Kozlov (Chairman of the TERRAMET Advisory Board), who spoke about the preparation, key points of the board’s work, challenges it faces, and the role of the board in systematizing business and creating a strategy. Particular attention was paid to using artificial intelligence in the board’s work and the transition from an advisory board to a supervisory board in SMEs. Volodymyr Mukomela (Partner, Audit & Assurance Services, Baker Tilly in Ukraine) spoke about the role and tasks of the Board in assessing the company’s performance. In his speech, Mr. Mukomela touched upon the issues of interaction with top management, analysis of financial statements and identification of potential problems and risks. He also discussed what indicators should be used to evaluate the performance of the company’s management. Oleksandr Pochkun (co-founder and managing partner of Baker Tilly in Ukraine) held a master class on the Board’s decision-making on company issues. Vasyl Davydko (Managing Director of Leopolis Group) spoke about the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and how to integrate it into the corporate strategy. Nina Dombrovska (member of the boards of private companies and non-governmental organizations, co-founder and co-president of Women on Boards Ukraine) spoke on the topic of “Board and Inclusive Leadership”, discussing the paradigm shift in the 21st century, gender diversity and its impact on governance.
The program concluded with a speech by Oleksandr Okuniev, who discussed formal procedures for evaluating the performance of the Board as a whole, Board committees and individual members and provided practical advice on these procedures.
The program was followed by the Second Meeting of the Corporate Director Program Alumni, which brought together more than 150 graduates of the 2017-2024 program in a friendly circle.
The call for applications for the next Corporate Director program has already been announced, which will take place: Module 1 – November 01-02, Module 2 – November 07-08, and Module 3 – November 13-15. Join the team of professionals – https://corporatedirector.cgpa.com.ua/2/
