Are you Board Ready?
“Our mission for the next 12 months will be to continue mobilising the collective Chairs and CEOs to achieve the 30% pivotal point among the top 100 PLCS while we start engaging with the next 100 PLCs and also the fast movers on Bursa Malaysia,” said Datin Ami Moris, Chair, 30% Club Malaysia.
“We will also create awareness amongst startups and LEAP market listed companies, so they can get started on the right foot by leveraging the “30% business case” to ensure they set the best foundation for future success,” she said.
Ami Moris was delivering her first opening address as the chair of 30% Club Malaysia at a panel session on Conversations with Mentors: Boardroom Realities: Are you ready? The panelists of the session were Johan Raslan and Tunku Alina Alias while the moderators were Nikki Gee and, Tengku Marina Badlishah (who is also the host). The event was an initiative by Mentee Circle through its Board Mentoring Scheme.
Ami shared three key messages – The 30% Club Malaysia is committed to broaden the pipeline of aspiring board-ready candidates, which in turn can support and supply to the Talent pipeline of women candidates.
“In September, we launched the 7th cohort of the Board Mentoring Scheme. Since 2017, a total of 68 mentees have completed the Board Mentoring Scheme, with 53 mentors supporting us. I am happy to note that to date 33% of the mentees from cohorts #1 to #6 have been placed on company boards,” she said.
She added that is to continue raising the awareness that it is not always the case that only a former CEO or CFO makes the best board member. Other domain experts, who may be women, in various specialisations such as risk, data science and sustainability are increasingly pivotal in navigating board room stewardship and strategic foresight,” she added.
This second message is the HOW will be a matter of bringing awareness and understanding of the 30% Business Case amongst listed companies and then providing a steady stream of the right talent.
With #ESG being a measurable benchmark across organisations, diversified, inclusive and strong scoring ESG companies are likely to be more attractive to today’s lenders, investors and consumers who have become more purpose-driven and sustainability-conscious.
The final message was there are 3 key data points that will continue to drive our agenda. Boards with at least one-third women representation correlates with 38% higher median ROE than boards with no women representation.
Companies that have directors from more than three different ethnic backgrounds show stronger correlation with higher valuations. Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the fourth quartile.
Clearly, we have a packed agenda with much work to do.
