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Governance news bites

A collection of governance-related news that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• Diversity

Simple steps to build a solid foundation for privacy

Training, empowerment and leadership from the boardroom are vital in establishing an effective privacy culture.

• Privacy
• Public sector

What I'm reading – Suneil Connor

Time is a hugely important commodity for leaders - this week's book provides advice on how to make the most of it.

• Decision making
• Leadership
• Productivity

IoD welcomes clarification of health and safety duties, says more could be done

The Government is clarifying the duties of directors in health and safety, a move we advocated for.

• Health and safety
• Liability

Wellington changemakers receive governance top honour

Pushing for change and contributing to positive outcomes. Read about the significant mark two women have left on Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Board composition
• Purpose

Tackling the climate crisis and growth go hand in hand

Climate Minister Simon Watts expects investment in climate action to generate economic benefits.

• Climate change

No success without succession

Janine Stewart says the Mainzeal case highlighted the importance of skill sets at the board table and the need for succession planning.

• Due diligence
• Future-proofing
• Liability

Balancing governance, kaupapa Māori and commercial success

Successfully governing Māori entities requires a unique mixture of boardroom skills.

• Purpose
• Te Ao Māori

Make time for AI in 2025

The people who benefit the most from AI are those with less competence, says GenAI leader Matt Ensor CMInstD.

• AI

IMHO: Executives need more support from boards

Boards need to ensure CEOs and managers are well-supported in often stressful roles.

• Board-management relationship
• Wellbeing

Governance news bites – 21 March 2025

A collection of governance-related news that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• Board composition
• Shareholders
• Stakeholders

Letter from Australia*: Notes from a sunburnt boardroom

From superannuation woes to AI governance, Australia’s boardrooms offer lessons for Kiwi directors in an era of complexity.

• AI
• Climate change

Kordia report shows AI cyberattacks front of mind

AI attacks were cited as a problem by 28 per cent of respondents to the latest Kordia cybersecurity survey.

• Cyber security

What I’m reading – Amy Cavanaugh

What does resilience look like in effective leadership and decision making, and what needs to change to embrace true diversity?

• Board composition
• Leadership
• What I'm Reading

Building an inclusive boardroom together

Boards play a critical role in setting the tone for inclusive leadership.

• Board composition
• Diversity

A time-sensitive opportunity for charities to build financial sustainability

The JBWere Bequest Report 2025 highlights an opportunity for charitable organisations to strengthen financial resilience.

• Family business
• Not for profits
• Purpose

IMHO: The post-war consensus has gone

The world has fundamentally changed. Business and government must work together to protect the NZ economy.

• Supply chains
• Trade

Strategic focus needed to future-proof New Zealand’s economy

Traditional economic strengths may no longer be sufficient to ensure our future prosperity, new report claims.

The wake you leave behind

The wake you leave behind needs to be about normalising the presence of women in governance, not as the exception, but as the expectation.

• Board composition
• Board dynamics
• Chairing

Why microaggressions could send women off the glass cliff

Burn out and distress might be a result of microaggressions and could be derailing women from getting to the top – and staying there.

• Board dynamics
• Diversity
• Leadership

Walking on broken glass

Calling out poor behaviour is the first step towards avoiding broken glass and having to walk away from toxic behaviour in the boardroom.

• Board dynamics
• Conduct
• Diversity

Mentoring: A safe harbour

Mentoring can enable you to stay the course, overcome challenges or obstacles and move forward with clarity. Find out more.

• Chairing
• Leadership

Governance news bites

A collection of governance-related news that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• AI
• Board composition
• Succession Planning

App ban the right move

Should you ban these apps from your work devices?

• Cyber security
• Digital

Multiplying the impact

Could collaboration ease the pain in the for-purpose sector? Suzanne Cookson believes it can and that change can be multiplied by doing so.

• Board meetings
• Chairing
• Not for profits

Credit crunch and green shoots: navigating New Zealand’s economic headwinds

Directors face a mixed bag of cautious optimism and pressing financial challenges.

Former Port of Auckland chief executive sentenced

The first conviction of an officer of a large company under the Health and Safety at Work Act has resulted in a $130,000 fine.

• From our sponsors
• Health and safety

Phoenix achieves measurable, structured emissions reductions

A strategic approach with a focus on one factor at a time has begun paying off in terms of carbon emissions reductions.

• Climate change

Capital markets reform submission supports reassessment of liability provisions

Chapter Zero New Zealand made a submission on proposed changes to the climate-related disclosures regime.

• Climate change
• Liability

Tax reforms stir debate among NFP directors

Proposed changes to the treatment of unrelated income, donor control and mutuality may reshape tax compliance for the not-for-profit sector.

• Compliance
• Not for profits

Sue Suckling: ‘I’ve always been someone to make things happen’

One of the first women to sit on a board, Sue Suckling shares what it took to push change and the people who supported her along the way.

• Board composition
• Diversity
• Leadership

Governance news bites – 21 February 2025

A collection of governance-related news that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

Evaluating before the failures

The UK Post Office scandal highlights critical importance of ethical leadership, accountability and stakeholder engagement.

• Board evaluation
• Leadership

What I'm reading - Daryn Govender

What laws do you live by that bring you closer to your purpose? This review addresses 33 laws that are applicable to everyday life.  

• Leadership
• Purpose

The key to achieving sustainable growth

The circular economy can help unlock economic growth by reducing waste, optimising resource usage and creating new business models.

• Climate change
• Leadership

The AI guardrails schism – where should NZ stand?

World leaders are no longer in step when it comes to regulating the impacts of AI.

• AI
• Leadership

Governance and orders of consciousness: a different leadership lens

Effective directors and chairs need more than job-based competencies.

• Leadership

IMHO: Cybersecurity, reputation and tough calls

New Zealand directors can learn from Australia’s latest boardroom scandal.

• Crisis management
• Cyber security
• Leadership

Who are you backing in the AI race?

We need to remove the FOMO – and find the right horse, says Kiwi AI strategy consultant Tim Sharp.

• AI
• Digital

IMHO: A short-term focus on survival is exhausting

How to switch our thinking from what we feel we lack to what we can offer.

Governance news bites – February 2025

A collection of governance-related news snapshots that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• Diversity
• Ethics
• Succession Planning

Prioritising safety for leaders and boards – lessons from a tragedy

Keeping our people, and ourselves, safe is a governance imperative.

• Health and safety

The future of jobs

The World Economic forum predicts how the workforce of tomorrow is being shaped today.

• Climate change
• Talent

Board Packs support effective decisions

Zero in on governance specific issues with Board Packs - the Institute of Directors’ new board development product.

• Board meetings
• Conflict of interests
• Health and safety

Modern slavery: boards must lead with integrity

Modern slavery is not only a moral imperative but an economic and social priority for New Zealand business.

• Liability
• Supply chains

IMHO: Generative AI in the boardroom – two views into the future

Embracing AI in the right way can help boards build trust and enhance governance.

• AI
• Board meetings
• Digital

The shifting DEI landscape: Why directors should stay the course

Research consistently shows that diversity leads to more effective, long-term value creation.

• Diversity

Resignation letters and transparency

Directors active in the public sector need to be keenly aware of heightened obligations that come with their roles.

The Chairman’s Lounge – Joe Aston on the downfall of Qantas

The story of how the once-loved Australian airline became a ‘national pariah’.

• Conduct
• Conflict of interests
• Leadership

We will have to learn to live with machines that can think

The impact of artificial intelligence on productivity could be epoch-making.

• AI
• Digital

Health and safety as a business enabler

New IoD national sponsor HSE Global brings international expertise and digital tools to drive sustainable performance.

• From our sponsors
• Health and safety

Governance news bites – 24 January

A collection of governance-related news snapshots that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• AI
• Trade

Role of AI in increasing sustainability and addressing climate change risks

AI’s capabilities have the potential to mitigate climate risks and foster sustainability.

• AI
• Climate change

Transformative Digital Data Rights Bill progresses

New Zealand is on the verge of enacting a transformative consumer data rights framework.

• Cyber security
• Digital

A path forward for New Zealand's water reforms

Ensuring the right mix of technical expertise and governance experience on water services providers is a challenge we need to prepare for.

• Talent

What I'm Reading – Sara Templeton

This week's must-read addresses what it means to counteract systemic sexism, biases and deeply ingrained social conditioning. Find out more.

• Board dynamics
• Board meetings
• What I'm Reading

Steve O’Donnell’s Advanced Directors’ Course insights

Steve O’Donnell CMInstD of HCL Tech expected insights from IoD’s Advanced Directors’ Course—but says it exceeded expectations.

Practical considerations for board succession planning

Succession planning is a critical component of effective governance for any board.

• Succession Planning

Global Risks Report warns of a critical shift

Compounding effects of climate change and pollution highlight the need for a broad-based approach to risk governance. 

• Climate change
• Crisis management
• Health and safety

Updating New Zealand’s competition settings: What directors need to know

Competition law review may tighten merger rules and reshape business growth strategies.

Climate as a purpose

Strategies to help NFPs integrate climate considerations without overextending capacity.

• Climate change
• Not for profits
• Purpose

Accelerating business investment for a competitive future

Effective climate governance could give you a competitive edge.

• Climate change

IoD members named in New Year Honours list

Congratulations to the Institute of Directors (IoD) members named in the New Year Honours list.

Christmas wish granted for Pasifika leaders

Christmas has come early for 17 leaders of Pacific descent who have been selected for the Tautua Mentoring Programme 2025.

• Diversity
• Health and safety

NZX Director Independence Review update: implications for directors

Changes announced will enhance robustness of governance practices for New Zealand-listed issuers. 

• Accountability
• Compliance
• NZX

Governance implications – 2024 HYEFU and Budget Policy Statement

Financial updates from Treasury may impact not-for-profit boards.

• Not for profits

Summer reading

Four books IoD CEO Kirsten (KP) Patterson is planning to dip into over the break.

The invisible chair: Wayne Boyd on a life in governance

A Distinguished Fellow of the IoD, Wayne Boyd has been deeply influential in New Zealand’s governance culture.

• Board dynamics
• Chairing
• Diversity

Mandatory climate reporting: Experiences from year one of New Zealand's regime

As we prepare for year two of mandatory climate reporting, lessons from the first year highlight areas of both opportunity and challenge. 

• Climate change
• Compliance
• Reporting

Governance news bites – December 2024

A collection of governance-related news snapshots you might have missed in the past two weeks.

AI: too much information?

Yuval Noah Harari and Parmy Olson on how the race for superintelligence may amplify the worst of human nature.

• AI
• Digital

Rodney Wong’s Success – finding points of light

Digging deep allows for positive change to take place at the board table, according to Palmerston North director Rodney Wong. Find out more.

• Board dynamics
• Decision making
• Leadership

Exciting, terrifying and valued in trillions – that’s AI

How are New Zealand directors dealing with – and implementing – AI? 

• AI
• Digital

Australia's Cyber Security Act

New legislation aims to bolster the security and resilience of Australia's cyber environment and critical infrastructure.

• Cyber security
• Digital
• From our sponsors

Good governance means asking the right questions

Director and community leader Arun Chaudhari MInstD shares how the Company Directors’ Course (CDC) has made a difference in his work.

• Diversity
• Leadership

Te Rika Temara-Benfell: “A path has been laid for us”

Young Māori leaders are carving out a path for the next generation – IoD’s Aspiring Māori Director Awardee is one of them.

• ESG
• Future-proofing
• Leadership

IMHO: Why individual board members shouldn't direct management

Understanding boundaries is important for developing a good relationship between board and management.

Governance news bites – November 2024

A collection of governance-related news snapshots that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• Climate change
• Decision making

Advisory boards: what they are and how they operate

Advisory boards sit alongside governing boards and the management to provide insights that benefit both groups.

• Advisory boards

Ex-Port of Auckland CEO guilty of health and safety breaches

Former Port of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson has been found guilty in relation to employee death in the workplace.

• From our sponsors
• Health and safety

Accelerating gender pay equality

Every board should be focussed on addressing the historical imbalance of gender pay disparity.

• Board composition
• Diversity

The changing governance landscape – a large, slow-moving tsunami

Governance is shifting under new laws on trusts, societies, climate reporting, and health and safety. Boards must adapt to stay ahead.

• Health and safety
• Liability

What it’s really like as a non-executive director

Three things to consider before becoming a non-executive director.

• Leadership
• Liability

What I'm reading - Katie Bhreatnach

Navigating megatrends and having an awareness of the how our biases inform decision-making, feature in this week's book review.

• Decision making
• Digital
• What I'm Reading

Directors see NZ economy on the up

Boards are positioning their organisations to take advantage of an expected economic upturn.

• Digital
• From our sponsors

First Steps in Governance awards for Canterbury directors

Three Canterbury directors have an opportunity to increase their governance experience and skills.

Cultural diversity key for boards

Sanit Kumar CMInstD joined the Company Directors’ Course (CDC) and reflects on the immersive course for directors reporting to boards.

• Diversity
• Leadership

Staying true to our values

Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo says in continuing to do business with the US we need to be clear about our values.

• Human rights
• Leadership
• Supply chains

Back to the future

When anticipating the climate of the future, remember the lessons of Michael J Fox.

• Climate change

A useful last resort: pursuing directors personally for unpaid company debts

What if you are owed money and you believe a director is in breach of their duties?

• From our sponsors

Governance news bites – November 2024

A collection of governance-related news snapshots you might have missed in the past two weeks. 

Mike McRoberts: “Allow yourself to go there”

A pathway between Māori businesses and investors will help form authentic partnerships, according to Mike McRoberts. Find out more.

• Future-proofing
• Te Ao Māori

Bringing startup expertise to the boardroom

Supporter of innovative businesses, Maria King MInstD was thrilled to see startup governance in the IoD Advanced Directors' Course.

• Innovation

Maxine Simmons on finding fresh inspiration at the Advanced Directors’ Course

Experienced director Maxine Simmons found fresh insights at the Advanced Directors’ Course. Read how it re-energised her approach.

Breaches of AML/CFT laws results in serious consequences

AML settlements should prompt directors to consider whether their systems and processes are up to date or require review.

• Accountability
• From our sponsors

IMHO: I don't care where, as long as I'm chair

Can a successful director translate their success to another board? Maybe.

• Board composition
• Board evaluation
• Chairing

Don’t wait for Wellington

Directors are urged to move more quickly than the Government on climate governance.

• Climate change

What I’m Reading – Debbie Ireland

What does it really mean to feel a sense of belonging and how can it boost performance and inclusion in business?

• Leadership
• What I'm Reading

Fee boost coming for Crown directors

State Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Goldsmith says a boost to Crown-entity directors’ fees will help the Government attract top talent.

• Director remuneration
• Public sector

Governance news bites – October 2024

A collection of governance-related news snapshots that you might have missed in the past two weeks.

• ESG
• Health and safety
• Liability