On 8 July 2023, the first major meeting of the Corporate Director Program alumni took place.

More than 150 alumni and speakers of the program, including corporate directors, members of boards of directors, supervisory boards and management boards of Ukrainian and international companies, gathered to meet each other and discuss the following topics during the panel discussion:

🔹  The role of Ukrainian directors in creating and developing the “market” of boards of directors in Ukraine (supervisory, advisory and consultative)

🔹 Investor expectations of directors around the world (positive and negative cases)

🔹 Development of a corporate director’s personal brand (practical tips)

Oleksandr Okuniev, Chairman of the CGPA Board of Directors and moderator of the event, noted that holding such events, namely organising meetings and discussion panels, as well as conducting training programs, is about developing opportunities for potential corporate directors to express themselves, tell the world about their desire to join the corporate world of boards of directors and demonstrate their strengths and competencies.

Oleksiy Dolgikh, Managing Partner of Boyden Global Executive Search in Ukraine, noted that being a supervisory board member is difficult, as it requires special knowledge, extraordinary efforts and competencies. Still, the most challenging thing is always being a board member for the first time. Oleksiy stressed that to win the competition; one should clearly understand their role on the board, where they are applying for membership, as very often the candidates he has worked with rarely understand what role they can play on the board, in which committee they can work best, and what added value they can bring to the company. He also noted that reputation and brand are the components of success that must be constantly and carefully worked on.

Taras Kyrychenko, member of the supervisory boards of Nova Poshta, Sheriff, Suzirya, NPF Turbota, etc., noted that the success of a corporate director depends on his or her professionalism, and that continuous training and improvement contributes to personal professional development and career development. He also noted that boards in private unlisted companies are created not for the sake of an external investor or auditor, but for the development of the company, especially in the case of medium-sized businesses and family-owned companies, whose owners strive to make better management decisions and build a better company.

Sergiy Bulavin, member of the New Standard Advisory Board, Chairman of the TERRAMET Advisory Board, CEO of AgroGeneration, shared his experience of creating boards in medium-sized companies. He focused on working with SME owners, who should be trained and supported in establishing a proper corporate governance system and creating a board, primarily an Advisory Board, which may grow into a Supervisory Board over time and with the development of the company.

Nadiia Vasylieva, Member of the Supervisory Board of JSC “CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK”, Independent Director, Member of the Supervisory Board of SE “Prozorro.Sale”, shared her experience of becoming a member of the Supervisory Board. She noted that two things should be combined very successfully in your desire to become a member of the supervisory board – the candidate’s reputation and the place of study at the moment because it is in the process of studying that you can start building your professional reputation and a network of contacts that will help you join the desired board. A short biography of a potential board member should include three elements: industry experience, strengths and competencies, and motivation to be a member of the supervisory board; additionally, you can indicate the experience of membership in boards, if any; a shareholder or owner of the company can learn about the candidate from a conversation or additional documents if the first page of the bio attracts them.

Today, the Corporate Governance Professional Association is undoubtedly the most experienced corporate governance development organisation in Ukraine, which has the most substantial expertise, as its programmes are taught by practitioners for practitioners.

The meeting participants had a unique opportunity to talk frankly about CGPA projects aimed at developing corporate directors’ careers and establishing new business connections during informal communication.

The event was co-organised by the Corporate Governance Professional Association, the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Institute, the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the IFC’s ESG Program, which is implemented in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The general partner of the event was Boyden Ukraine, a leading international recruitment company.

The official partner was Nova Poshta.

Security partner – Sheriff Holding.