High Performance Boards: Improving and Energizing your Governance

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Didier Cossin’s book explains how Governance can be a key factor for companies’ success. It’s a must-read for all board members!” – Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chairman, Société Générale; Board Member, TAGES Holding What impressed me most is the comprehensive coverage of every aspect of board work in a way that is solidly grounded in every day’s practice in boardrooms around the world. As such, the book is a must read for every aspiring board member, but also has a lot to offer for even the most seasoned board member with a curiosity for learning and continuous improvement.” – Gerard Kleisterlee, Chairman, Vodafone Group Plc; Deputy Chair and Senior Independent Director, Royal Dutch Shell; Chairman, ASML When practising good governance, the board is the vital driver of organizational success, while fostering positive social impact and economic value creation. At all levels, executives around the world are faced with complexities rising from disruptive business models, new technologies, socio-economic changes, shifting political circumstances, and an array of other sources. High Performance Boards is the comprehensive manual for attaining best-in-class governance, offering pragmatic guidance on improving board quality, accountability, and performance.

The Center also offers a combination of open enrollment and custom programs aimed at empowering board members and enhancing board performance, and Cossin is Director of its High Performance Boards program, Board Practice Series (BPS), and Board Director Diploma. He favors an adaptive and interactive approach to find distinctive solutions for organizations based on the social, geopolitical, technological, and economic transformations in different regions of the world. Corporate boards, he says, also need to factor in geopolitical risks, social evolution, and the long-term instability of the world, which is something they often do not give sufficient thought to. Didier Cossin is the founder and director of the IMD Global Board Center, the originator of the Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness methodology and an advocate of Stewardship. He is the author and co-author of books such as Inspiring Stewardship, book chapters (such as Governance Risk: A Guide for Investors) and many articles in the fields of governance, investments, risks and stewardship, several of which have obtained citations of excellence or other awards.Cossin is President of the Stewardship Institute, whose goal is to support projects with positive social impact through ESG research and advocacy, and Chairman of BERG Capital Management, which manages investment processes for large asset owners using governance principles. He is also a member of the American Finance Association, the Eastern Finance Association, and the European Finance Association.

High Performance Boards has inspired more than 3000 board members around the world. This book is essential reading for professionals and managers interested in governance and board members, senior managers, investors, lawyers, and students of governance. He is the author of two books on governance ( Inspiring Stewardship and High Performance Boards) and has published articles in leading journals such as Management Science, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Computational Finance, and MIT Sloan Management Review. He is also a columnist for CEOWORLD magazine. Cossin is the originator of the Four Pillars of Board Effectiveness methodology and an advocate of stewardship – the idea that leaders should aim to deliver positive long-term social and economic impact. Didier Cossin is Chaired Professor of Governance and Finance, and Founder and Director of the IMD Global Board Center. He works with owners, boards, and senior leaders to help them improve organizational performance through best-in-class governance and decision making. He also holds the UBS Chair in Banking and Finance.He is also focused on the governance of investments, including how ESG can be integrated in the investment process all the way through to asset allocations and not only in asset selection and engagement. Good governance transforms performance because it protects against downside risks, such as reputational risks and integrity risks, he says, and helps organizations to adapt, which creates upside opportunities. Professor Cossin has got it spot on. His four-pillared ‘temple’ of board effectiveness is brought to life with the boardroom adventures of Joanne Marker. Indeed his construct has two outer buttresses that centre around people. Their quality, focus, dedication and also how they interact with each other dynamically to produce a governance culture of excellence. One hopes that right-minded and passionate directors or would-be directors will read this book and say ‘I want to be a John or Joanne Marker when I grow up!’” – Teo Swee Lian, Chairwoman, CapitaLand Mall Trust; Board Member of AIA, Singtel and Dubai Financial Services Authority ; former Deputy Managing Director Monetary Authority of Singapore A comprehensive guide to transforming boards and achieving best-practice governance in any organisation.