On March 27-28, 2018, the first module of the third Program of professional improvement for members of the supervisory boards “Corporate Director” was held. It was developed by the Corporate Governance Professional Association (CGPA) in cooperation with the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Institute (UCGA) with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the British Embassy in Ukraine.

At the end of 2017, two pilot programs were held, after which a survey was conducted among participants and trainers. Based on this study, the program was partially modified and improved, and in March 2018 the first module of the improved program was conducted.

The program was opened by Jason Brett Pellmar, the Head of the IFC Regional Office in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. He noted that “corporate governance gives additional value to companies, it affects the company’s performance, reduces investment risks, reduces reputational risks. IFC was the first organization that required a thorough investment analysis for each transaction. The IFC developed its own methodology for assessing corporate governance. This is a system for assessing the risks of corporate governance, as well as assessing the opportunities for our company. Our goal is to comply with the best practices of corporate governance, protection of shareholders’ rights, the credibility of the board of directors. Ukraine still has a long way to openness and transparency. I hope that you as members of the supervisory boards will be the driving forces in this.”

Oleksandr Okuniev, Head of the CGPA Management Board, told participants about main elements of the corporate governance model, noted the problems of assessing the level of corporate governance, and identified approaches to building an effective corporate governance model in the company (group of companies). Invited trainers Irina Starodubova, Associate Partner of Capital Times, and Yaroslav Kinakh, President of Iskander Energy Corporation, spoke at the meeting about the role of the board, the types of boards, its main tasks, approaches to determining competencies, and the relationship between the board and the executives. The highlight of the discussion was the experience of the membership of the speakers in the supervisory boards of Ukrainian (I. Starodubova) and foreign (J. Kinakh) companies.

Daniil Pasko, Managing Partner of Diligent Capital Partners, spoke about the role of the Supervisory Board in the development and implementation of the company’s strategy and the Board’s endorsement of strategic decisions on the development of the enterprise.

Among the participants of the program are representatives of large and medium-sized private and state enterprises, owners, managers and members of supervisory boards, heads of departments, as well as representatives of ministries and departments responsible for implementing supervisory boards in state enterprises.