About Programs Fellowship News Calendar
Second session of the Salzburg Global Forum on Corporate Governance asks how directors can balance responsibilities to shareholders against emerging pressures.
In today’s economic environment, the role of non-employee directors of publicly held companies is becoming increasingly difficult. Directors struggle to maintain economic performance, manage risks, and comply with their legal obligations, all while ensuring they uphold good behavior. Salzburg Global Seminar Session The Corporate Balancing Act: How can directors Manage Conflicting Pressures?, taking place 29 September – 1 October in Schloss Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria, will convene 40 participants from 16 different countries and various disciplines to address these issues in a collaborative and interactive way.
The Corporate Balancing Act: How can Directors Manage Conflicting Pressures? will be the second session of the Salzburg Global Forum on Corporate Governance, which aims to facilitate critical thinking about regulatory and economic environments, comparative practices, and the roles and duties of directors.
At the 2015 session, participants agreed that enhancing corporate profit and shareholder gain remain the primary purpose of corporations worldwide, and they prioritized the need to develop practical techniques to improve board effectiveness in monitoring or guiding corporate behavior. They stressed that growing pressures for corporations to behave as “good citizens” may not always be easy to reconcile with fundamental economic objectives. Therefore, the 2016 session will concentrate on ways to help directors improve governance practices for the long-term enhancement of the wealth of the corporation and its shareholders, while also promoting leadership in exploring the role of the corporation as a good citizen.
“We have seen a wave of scandals which suggest poor corporate governance, prompting citizens to put pressure on legislators and regulators to do something – anything – about this, which may or may not actually be beneficial solutions,” explains Program Director Charles Ehrlich. “At the Salzburg Global Forum on Corporate Governance, we wish to challenge corporate leaders to think differently, and to examine how to balance these pressures with the pressures of running a public company.”
The session will provide a neutral space for current and future leaders within corporate governance to tackle questions such as “How can directors of multinational corporations effectively perform their obligations in the face of changing pressures from the public, globalization and other sources of uncertainty?,” “Can the increasing need to act as a ‘good citizen’ be reconciled with the fiduciary duties of directors to act in the interests of the company?,” and more.
The goal of the session is to prompt current and future leaders to begin addressing these issues, facilitate networking and relationships across disciplines, and to ultimately benefit individuals and businesses that are facing a host of new and complex issues as the 21st Century unfolds.
The Salzburg Global Session ‘The Corporate Balancing Act: How can Directors Manage Conflicting Pressures?’ is part of the multi-year series Salzburg Global Forum on Corporate Governance. The series is being hosted in partnership with Shearman & Sterling LLP, Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon and UBS and is supported by Bank of America and Barclays. More information on the session here: www.salzburgglobal.org/go/567.