Company boards: Focus on performance and not on numbers, says Unilever CEO
Mix of skills and experience is important.
KARACHI:
The number of executive and non-executive members in a company board should be flexible keeping in view the requirements so that the focus remains on performance and not on numbers, said Unilever Pakistan CEO Ehsan Malik.
Explaining, Malik said that most of the time subsidiaries of big companies require people who can better serve the organisation regardless of their executive or non-executive status.
He was speaking at a conference on the ‘Role of independent directors’ here on Wednesday.
Shedding light on the performance of Unilever Pakistan, Malik said that its business has doubled over the last five years and its importance for Unilever Global is growing.
Today, more than 50 per cent of the business of Unilever Global is coming from developing countries like Pakistan. Unilever Pakistan also provides workforce to Unilever Global and this is why more Pakistanis are working in Unilever Global than Indian nationals, he said.
CFA Institute Head for Asia-Pacific Lee Kha Loon said that the role of independent directors is very important in the well-being of an organisation. He cited the example of Satyam debacle, an Indian computer service provider, saying that independent directors in Satyam did not play any part which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the company.
Loon said that some companies share their reappointment, promotion and tenure (RPT) policies and procedures in the annual report like Bank of China. Such practices satisfy shareholders, especially minority shareholders, that their company is answerable to them, he added.
Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales member corporate governance committee Ken Rushton said that the size of the board matters but mix of skills and experience is more important. He said that board composition should be balanced while team dynamics also affect decision-making.
Rushton said that gender diversity in boards has been a hot topic in the United Kingdom and some European countries are introducing quotas. However, he said, still only 12 per cent of FTSE 100 directors are female.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2011.
The number of executive and non-executive members in a company board should be flexible keeping in view the requirements so that the focus remains on performance and not on numbers, said Unilever Pakistan CEO Ehsan Malik.
Explaining, Malik said that most of the time subsidiaries of big companies require people who can better serve the organisation regardless of their executive or non-executive status.
He was speaking at a conference on the ‘Role of independent directors’ here on Wednesday.
Shedding light on the performance of Unilever Pakistan, Malik said that its business has doubled over the last five years and its importance for Unilever Global is growing.
Today, more than 50 per cent of the business of Unilever Global is coming from developing countries like Pakistan. Unilever Pakistan also provides workforce to Unilever Global and this is why more Pakistanis are working in Unilever Global than Indian nationals, he said.
CFA Institute Head for Asia-Pacific Lee Kha Loon said that the role of independent directors is very important in the well-being of an organisation. He cited the example of Satyam debacle, an Indian computer service provider, saying that independent directors in Satyam did not play any part which ultimately resulted in the collapse of the company.
Loon said that some companies share their reappointment, promotion and tenure (RPT) policies and procedures in the annual report like Bank of China. Such practices satisfy shareholders, especially minority shareholders, that their company is answerable to them, he added.
Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales member corporate governance committee Ken Rushton said that the size of the board matters but mix of skills and experience is more important. He said that board composition should be balanced while team dynamics also affect decision-making.
Rushton said that gender diversity in boards has been a hot topic in the United Kingdom and some European countries are introducing quotas. However, he said, still only 12 per cent of FTSE 100 directors are female.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2011.