Governance advisory

Advising a family Council in the long-term

CONTEXT

An important group of families, composed of more than 200 shareholders, belonging to five different branches from six generations, owns more than one multi-billion industrial company. Their governance is complex, and the need to align the general family shareholders group with the family council and boards of directors of the operating companies, was crucial.

APPROACH

Proper alignment among these governing bodies is important because it affects the success of the families in terms of sustainability, transition to the next generations and togetherness (“affectio societatis”).

OUTCOME

Our advisory role, exercised over a period of three to four years, consisted of reviewing the family council, as well as the boards of the operating companies (in terms of organisation, functionality, behaviours and capabilities), then driving the selection committee for the nomination of family members to be appointed to the boards and finally recruiting external directors. In performing this mission, our contribution helped the family upgrade its “family charter” and improve their internal processes.

CONTEXT

A multinational telecommunications company was undertaking a critical transformation of its shareholding and governance model.
The change of shareholding and a challenging competitive landscape required a board that could make effective and cohesive decisions.

APPROACH

  • Understanding the situation by interviewing key board members (chair, CEO, lead independent director, committees chairs, board secretary) and analysing selected company documents including strategic plans and board meeting reports
  • Preparation of a questionnaire for leading interviews with all board members, addressing the resulting critical areas and aimed at finding common ground
  • Execution of confidential interviews
  • Development of a report containing our findings, suggested areas for improvement and a feasible implementation plan
  • Presentation of the results to the board
  • Follow-on support

OUTCOME

A set of projects was unanimously agreed:

  • Improvements in communication between the management and the board
  • More involvement of the board in the discussion of the company’s strategic plan
  • More efficient flow of documents to the board
  • Implementation of common sense actions to improve cohesion (such as informal pre-board meetings)
  • Proper induction programme for new board members

CONTEXT

A global consultancy needed to expand its operations in Asia and was looking for two senior advisors to guide the establishment of their Singapore hub.

APPROACH

We developed a list of around 20 potential candidates who could demonstrate the domain expertise and seniority required by our client.

OUTCOME

Our client appointed two senior advisors: the recently retired

CEO of one of the largest Singapore-listed corporations, and the former head of investment banking for Southeast Asia at a global investment bank.