2021 New Year Member Update

by Helen Pitcher OBE, President INSEAD Directors Network

Dear members – I trust that you are all well and are remaining safe in these interesting times.

2020 – A Year in Review

2020 was an extremely challenging, but interesting year for all of us as INSEAD Directors Network (“IDN”).  Our IDN board members have all continued to work hard to support our 1,500 members over the course of the year.  And like all of you, as board directors, IDN have moved our initiatives online and have been working in a more virtual basis.  Nevertheless, we believe that we provided significant value by supporting the lifetime learning of our members through our various initiatives which have run this year.  In addition to supporting initiatives of INSEAD, the INSEAD Alumni Association and the INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre (“ICGC”), our initiatives have included:

• Webinars – Under the guidance of Liselotte Engstam, IDN ran 15 webinars for members this year, which covered a wide number of topics, from managing during COVID, cyber, digital and sustainability, as well as how to get your first board mandate, which are all very topical interest areas of members.

• Mentoring programme – We also revamped our mentoring program for new board directors and ran a successful program for 26 pairs of mentors and mentees on a fully virtual basis. Our mentors were experienced directors, many of whom were qualified IDP-Cs. This program was viewed by both mentors and mentees as a success. We will be running this program again in 2021, under the guidance of Helen Wiseman.  We will be seeking mentors and mentees for the programme so please do support this initiative.
• Ambassadors – Our network of 18 ambassadors under the guidance of Jeff Scott ran several in country initiatives to support our members over the year, many of which were on a virtual basis to allow our members to remain engaged with IDN, and to support their continuing education on a virtual basis. Events were held in geographies including Belgium, Singapore, France, the Americas, and Africa to share knowledge.  Please do connect with your local ambassador to find out more about initiatives in your geography.
• IDN Inaugural 2020 Awards – Another new initiative we held in 2020, under the guidance of Thomas Seale was to recognise some of the most prestigious mandates which were awarded to IDN members. We awarded four of our IDN members with the Inaugural IDN awards for prestigious board positions. These were people who had been awarded what we have regarded as the most prestigious board positions, which were announced in our quarterly announcements, categorized into profit and not-for-profit categories. This included three female directors.

• Advertising of board mandates – Under the guidance of Helen Wiseman, we advertised and placed a number of IDN members into international director positions.
• Blog posts – In 2020, we also enhanced our blog posts where we have been sharing member viewpoints on topics of corporate governance, and providing our members who can’t attend our events, short summaries of discussions at our events. These details are shared via our social media on LinkedIn and Twitter.

• Continued member engagement – We have also continued to support our members through our membership lead, Hagen Schweinitz who welcomes and support our members from across the globe.

Finally, to support our future growth, we have now established a legal entity in Singapore, INSEAD Directors Club Ltd. and have set up banking arrangements under the guidance of our Treasurer, Karen Loon.  This will support our further growth plans in 2021 and beyond.

What can IDN members look out for in 2021?

We expect to further refine and enhance many of the initiatives which we ran for members in 2020.  These include our webinars and our mentoring program, and continuing to support INSEAD and ICGC in Singapore and Fontainebleau, and collaborating more closely with the INSEAD Alumni Association and the National Alumni Associations around the world to support the lifetime learning of all INSEAD alumni.

Areas that we are working on in 2021 include:

• Partnerships – We are on the lookout to partner with like-minded organizations who are interested in working with us to support our initiatives in corporate governance. If you do know of organisations who may wish to work with us on a global or local basis, please ask them to reach out to Dominic Nixon or Pamela Ravasio.
• Ambassadors – We are looking to expand the geographical reach of our ambassador network in 2021. Watch out for further details.
• Thought leadership – Representatives of our board have been working together with INSEAD faculty on various thought leadership articles on board dynamics and trends. Do sign up for our upcoming webinar on 8 February 2021 which will feature Stanislav Shekshnia, INSEAD Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Business and Director of INSEAD Chair Program, and myself, Helen Pitcher OBE, moderated by Liselotte Engstam where we will discuss Modern Chair Practices.

We look forward to supporting our members on their corporate governance journeys. Please also do share with me or any of our board members feedback on how we can continue to support you as our members in your membership in your governance journey.

Helen Pitcher OBE, IDN President

Email – [email protected]

To find out more about IDN, visit here

To join IDN, visit here

About INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre

Established in 2010, the INSEAD Corporate Governance Centre (ICGC) has been actively engaged in making a distinctive contribution to the knowledge and practice of corporate governance. The ICGC harnesses faculty expertise across multiple disciplines to teach and research on the challenges of boards of directors in an international context and to foster a global dialogue on governance issues with the ultimate goal to develop boards for high-performance governance. Visit ICGC website: https://www.insead.edu/centres/corporate-governance