Sustainable corporate governance for long term business success

This event brought together board members, investors and regulators from across Europe to discuss the role we all have to play in fostering an ecosystem that promotes long-term sustainable success for the benefit of relevant stakeholders in a business and society at large.

•  Date: January 19, 2021
• Time : 16:00 – 18:00 CET 

During the session, participants had  the choice of attending panel discussions from the perspectives of boards, investors and regulators on the following topics: 

Panel 1: The possible changes to the regulatory system expected in the 2020s at national and European level. 

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• Hosted by:
  • Dr Roger Barker - Director of Policy and Corporate Governance, Institute of Directors UK.
  • Jean Luc Barlet - Group Chief Compliance Officer at Mazars (FR).
• Speakers:
  • Susanne Knöfel - Deputy Head of Company Law Unit, DG JUST European Commission.
  • Per Lekvall (SE) – Chair of the International Committee of the Swedish Academy of Board Directors and a member of the Policy Committee of ecoDa. 
  • Mathilde Mesnard  (FR) - Deputy Director of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs of the OECD.

Panel 2: What is the right board structure to tackle key challenges, including climate change, the impact of technology, effects of Covid-19, tensions in free trade, and diversity.

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• Hosted by:
  • Michel de Fabiani -Chair of Policy Committee ecoDa and Non-Executive Director for Ebtrans and Valco.
  • Anthony Carey  - Partner responsible for Board Effectiveness.
• Speakers:
  • Pascal Durand Barthez (FR) – Member of the Policy Committee of ecoDa, Advocat member of the Paris bar, specialised in corporate law and governance matters (in house and practice cousel).
  • Jock Lennox (UK) - Chair of Audit Committee Chair’s Independent Forum, NED and Audit Committee Chair (Barratt Developments plc).
  • Maria Pierdicchi (IT) – President Nedcommunity , Non executive Board member of Unicredit and  Autogrill.
  • Monica de Virgiliis (FR) – Non-Executive Director ASM and Geodis, Chair of Sustainability Committee Prysmian Group, Chair of Chapter Zero France.

Panel 3: The changes expected in investors’ focus over the next decade, and how this will impact their approach to governance.

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• Hosted by:
  • Fabrice Demarigny - President Mazars Société d'Avocats, with particular expertise in EU Financial Markets Law.
  • Marco Becht - Founder Member and the Executive Director of the European Corporate Governance Institute Professor of Finance at Université Libre de Bruxelles.
• Speakers:
  • Dr Hans-Christophe Hirt (UK) – EOS at Federated Hermes Investment Management, Executive Director, Head of EOS.
  • Paul Koster (NL) - CEO at the VEB (Dutch Shareholders Association) VEB, Chair of European Investors.
  • Valerio Novembre (IT) – Senior Policy Officer at European Securities and Markets Authority – ESMA.
  • Hendrik Schmidt (DE) – Corporate Governance expert DWS Investment GmbH, Member of Corporate Governance Working Group BVI German Investment Funds Association, Member of stewardship and governance committee The Investment Association (UK).
  • Harald Walkate - Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Responsible Investment (ESG) at Natixis Investment Managers

This event marked the completion of a joint study Mazars published with ecoDa earlier in 2020, ‘Time for sustainability to be at the heart of business’, which discussed a range of measures needed to bring about necessary change to put sustainability at the heart of business for the long-term benefit of business and wider society.