Governance’s 21-Years Journey | A Conversation with Lesley Stephenson

Boardroom&Beyond Podcast

In this episode, Lyndsey talks with Lesley Stephenson, Publisher and Owner of Governance Magazine. They discuss the 21 year journey of this global publication.

Introduction and Overview:

- Worked on publishing the first corporate governance code – Cadbury Report on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance (2:15)

- Published Greenbury Report on director remuneration and the Hampel Report which reviewed the original Cadbury Code (2:31)

- Publisher of Financial Times Board Director Programme – provides training, development and networking for board directors in their role as director (3:22)

Governance Magazine:

- Governance magazine has actually been going since November 1997 – 23 years (4:32)

- Covers any issue of relevance to boards and investors (5:04)

- Occasionally looks at important developments outside the corporate sector but mainly corporate (5:42)

- Readership (6:24)

• Chairs/CEOs/CO Secs in large listed companies worldwide• Institutional investors• Advisors• Business schools• Governance professionals

- Main readership is in the UK (50%) and the USA (10%). The audience is truly global, with subscribers in 40 different countries (6:38)

Corporate Governance Over 20 Years Ago:

- Generally boards more resistant, not so well accepted (8:04)

- Heavy emphasis on running companies for benefit of shareholders – this has broadened out to include all stakeholders (9:26)

- No concept of Board Diversity at all (10:13)

Top Moment:

- Publishing an article by Alexei Navalny (11:21)

Top Challenges:

- Time management between the Financial Times Board Director Programme and Governance Magazine (11:49)

- Small team working behind the scenes on Governance Magazine (12:04)

- Good content has not been a challenge (12:30)

Top Changes in Past 21 Years:

- General acceptance of Governance and business as a force for good (13:41)

- Increase in investor stewardship (14:31)

- Board diversity and inclusion (14:53)

- Drivers of change: (16:43)

• Scandals• Losing money• Internet• Social media

Trend of Corporate Governance Development in the Next 5 to 10 Years:

- ESG is here to stay. Climate change needs to be dealt with (19:05)

- Extension of a wider sense of stakeholder engagement (19:22)

- Culture comes from the top (19:43)

- Changes to digital technology, AI and the way we do things (20:02)

- Boards and directors need to be adaptable and open to change (20:28)

Importance of Ongoing Corporate Governance Training:

- Individual directors have the responsibility to make sure they are up to date and that their skills are appropriate (21:31)

- Other professions expect specific training and CPD (Continuing Professional Development) (23:10)

- Governance Magazine helps board directors by keeping them up to date across a range of topics (23:39)