Report from the Salzburg Global Corporate Governance Forum explores how corporate boards can navigate emerging risks in an era of global disruption and uncertainty
The “post-COVID” world has proven to be as tumultuous as its predecessor. On the heels of an existential threat to health and well being, corporations today face risks—military, climactic, social, financial, and political—that only promise continued instability. The “new normal” features the old uncertainty.
From October 13 to 15, 2022, the Salzburg Global Corporate Governance Forum convened to discuss how corporate directors can and should respond. An intergenerational group of stakeholders, hailing from five continents, and drawing from deep expertise in finance, law, academia, and civil society, gathered to address the theme: "Global Disruption and Uncertain Horizons: How Can Boards Navigate New Risks?"
The attendees set out not just to distinguish the new risks from the evergreen, but also to ask whether the familiar tools of corporate governance still apply.
- What does a corporation’s commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives entail, or perhaps demand, in a time of war?
- How should a corporate director reconcile traditional notions of shareholder primacy with the often-conflicting interests of stakeholders?
- How does a corporation foster and inculcate its purpose in an increasingly digital office environment?
- Is it possible to achieve a corporation’s ambitions with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) holistically, or are there unavoidable tradeoffs?
The 8th annual Salzburg Global Corporate Governance Forum consisted of a series of plenary and breakout sessions. Unlike a conference setting, the Forum prioritizes decentralized and unstructured interactions. A broad theme sets the agenda for each discussion, but that aside, the conversation and analysis that ensues is of the attendees’ making. This report is also of the attendees’ making. It provides a glimpse into the intimate, provocative, and often challenging conversations that took place in the halls and gardens of Schloss Leopoldskron.
The Forum is held under the Chatham House Rule, whereby participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. This report reflects its authors’ reflections on the discussions during the Forum. None of the views or opinions expressed in the report should be attributed to individual attendees or the organizations with whom they are affiliated.
The report is now available to download, read and share:
Download the report as a PDF
The Salzburg Global Seminar program, "Global Disruption and Uncertain Horizons: How can Boards Navigate New Risks" is part of the Salzburg Global Corporate Governance Forum. The program was held in partnership with the CLP Group and supported by BNY Mellon.
