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Governance news bites - 1 July

type
Article
author
By Institute of Directors (IoD)
date
1 Jul 2024
read time
3 mins to read
Governance news bites - 1 July

Governance is always a busy space, and the past few weeks are no exception. New relevant-to-governance items in the news include:

  • Fixing financial disaster: an interview with Dean Hamilton, CFIsntD: Dean Hamilton is in a unique position at Ryman Healthcare at the moment. He is the executive chair and interim chief executive. In this video interview he talks about fixing the financial situation at Ryman Healthcare, and also covers off the role of chairs and board decision making.
  • Corporate law needs a fundamental rethink in Australia: While it dates from last year, there is an important speech from High Court of Australia (the equivalent of New Zealand’s Supreme Court) Justice Hon. Michelle Gordon, AC, derived from her Harold Ford Memorial Lecture. She makes the case for a change in Australian company law that is newsworthy again for New Zealand given the recent statement by the Minister of Commerce, Hon. Andrew Bayly, to the Financial Services Council on potential reform of the Companies Act 1993.
  • More enthusiasm by managers than staff about AI: There is a lesson for directors about AI in analysis that shows that 96% of executives feel urgency to implement AI and less than a third of staff have used AI tools so far. It is possible that directors are closer to where staff are when less than a third of boards last year were having discussions about the use of technology and AI, based on findings from 2023 ASB/IoD Director Sentiment Survey.
  • Even more need for future-ready succession being demonstrated: A range of high-profile companies and other organisations have seen, and are seeing, considerable board turnover recently. KiwiRail seems set to join this list with the chair stepping down early and further board changes signalled by the Minister of Finance. In this, and an increasing number of similar situations, as we noted in our Top 5 Issues for Directors in 2024, future-ready succession, new models of board leadership, and different expertise and capability are needed to meet new challenges. Succession planning is needed now more than ever.