04 Nov PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE: SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Corporations are a human invention, an instrument that has chanelled funds and talent. This fiction of the law, the creation of an abstract person who can own, sue or be sued has been enormously successful for humanity. We can hardly conceive a world without corporations, a world without large pharma companies, without Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple. These are all corporations bigger than many countries and certainly more powerful. They are all undergoing major changes in their governance.
Recently, Swiss Bank Corporation, one of the most stable and emblematic Swiss banks was suddenly in financial trouble and had to be rescued by UBS. Body Shop was an outstanding brand with an excellent governance and humanitarian reputation. Now Body Shop is close to bankruptcy. Virtually all corporate forms, be it business corporations, churches, associations, trusts or foundations are facing important governance challenges.
Business corporations used to be very stable. There was a universal consent on the purpose of the corporation coined in the quote “the business of business is business”. At the time, the sole players in the corporation were shareholders and the Board of directors. Matters within the corporations were protected as private property. However, since the 90´s corporate governance has changed dramatically.
Today stakehohlders have gained extraordinary presence. Matters such as gender, human rights, environment have gained outstanding protagonist in corporations. This way, the gender pay gap and diversity are matters regulated, among other corporations, by the British Crown Diversity Policy.
Through this course, students will gain the necessary skills to navigate and make meaningful understanding of corporate governance that will assist them in the corporate decision making proces.
GONZALO/ENRIQUE FERNÁNDEZ-ATELA/AZNAR
Professor Atela obtained his PdD from Madrid University. He became familiar with US Law at Georgetown University and gained an LLM from Columbia University. He worked for major law firms in New York, with Sullivan & Cromwell, and in Madrid at Garrigues. He was General Counsel and board member for the Royal Bank of Canada. He also took a program at IMD Business School.
Professor Atela has been very active in promoting human rights by litigating against the Kingdom of Spain, enforcing the ruling of the Committee for Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations in the case Hill v Spain. He has actively promoted the rule of law as a member of the board of the Fundación Hay Derecho, (www.hayderecho.com) a very active think tank. The Foundation does strategic litigation, promotes checks and balances, transparency and corruption litigation.
Mr. Atela has worked in the depolitization of municipalities promoting key performance indicators as a tool for selecting leaders.
Skills
Students will be able to envisage the rationale and consequences of major corporate trends such as the social corporate responsibility or Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).
They will understand the implications and extent of corporate activism, proxy voting and the involvement of asset managers.
To assess non-financial reporting obligations and how this issue is managed by major corporations. Learn how delicate corporate decisions are constructed meeting, simultaneously, shareholders and stakeholders demands or expectations.
The course will go over regional differences in corporate governance, family owned corporations issues, successions or corporate lock down their rationale and implications thereof.
Ultimately, students will develop a solid foundation on corporate governance and that will allow them to comprehend contemporary complex corporate issues and assist them in taking business decisions.
Schedule
Which dates?
23-sep
30-sep
07-oct
14-oct
21-oct
28-oct
What day?
Monday
What time?
11,00-12,30