Canadian directors advise on planning board agendas

Boards need to set their agendas to ensure they address topics including strategy and diversity, a panel of senior industry officials and directors asserted last week.

One of the challenges facing boards is using the limited time they have together effectively, Susan Wolburgh Jenah, senior adviser with Aird & Berlis, told attendees at the annual Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC) conference in St John’s, Newfoundland.

Strategy and emerging risks are key issues they need to tackle, but often agendas don’t devote enough time to reflect their importance, said Jenah, who is a governor of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and a member of the boards of Laurentian Bank of Canada, Aecon Group and Humber River Hospital.

Fellow panelist Barry Perry, president and CEO of Fortis, said his board tends to think about strategy during the summer months, but that it is important to work ahead of time to make sure this is pinned down on the agenda.

Peter Dey, chair of Paradigm Capital and a director of Gran Tierra Energy, told attendees that boards often have agendas looking ahead months or years, but that in times of turmoil they must be able to change these to adapt to changing demands. Dealing with turbulence is also the strongest argument for having a diversity of skills and experience on the board, he said.

‘In times of turbulence, the governance professional’s role is to make sure the board is never surprised,’ he added.

Jenah noted that there is discussion about whether the Canadian authorities should impose board diversity quotas on companies, as has been the case in a number of European countries. She said she would prefer to see companies reach those levels ‘organically,’ and not just in terms of gender but also in terms of the age of directors.

Perry argued that companies need to do more to boost diversity by setting targets for themselves and trying to meet them within reasonable timeframes. Hiring directors can be a tough process, but companies should be able to find qualified individuals, he said, noting that his own firm has set itself targets and is looking across North American for suitable candidates. If the company doesn’t find the right female director candidates it won’t have looked hard enough, he added.