Responsible Leadership: How Do We Make Businesses More Accountable?

Corporate directors face growing demands for accountability. Investors, stakeholders, and various associations and agencies are all articulating principles and guidance that demand greater accountability on a range of issues. But to whom should boards be held accountable? And what are the mechanisms to enhance accountability?

This online program of the Salzburg Global Corporate Governance Forum, held over three days October 6-8th, builds on two conversations held in May and July. Our first day explored the civil and criminal liability of directors as a means to support accountability. Our second day explored the tactics of the new activist investors as they attempt to exert their influence on director accountability. Our final discussion turned the focus inward on directors and senior management and their vital role in ensuring better corporate accountability.

Participation in this program was by invitation only.

Date

Oct 06 - Oct 08, 2021

Session no.

Session 709

Location

Online

Contact

Charles Ehrlich

Director, Peace and Justice

Antonio Riolino

Senior Program Manager

Content overview

Additional Info Participants Staff Partners Sponsor University partner

Format

In keeping with past programs, our format is designed to promote interactive conversations while accommodating participation from different time zones.

Our three days together were anchored by three global plenary interspersed with two regional discussions where global governance leaders share some initial provocations, our participants have the opportunity to break into smaller discussions, and we come back together to share key insights from our conversations.

To allow for time to connect, our program have also included time for virtual cafés.

We saw these sessions as cumulative discussions and invite dall participants to join the full program including all three plenaries and their choice of regional discussions. In exceptional cases where participants were only able to make one or more sessions, they were invited to do so, but would appreciate knowing so that we can make room for others to participate.

Discussions took place in plenary and small breakout groups. As always, we adhered to the Chatham House Rule in order to allow for candid and open exchange of ideas.

Schedule

The PLENARY SESSIONS took place each day on 6, 7, 8 October from 14:00-16:00 Salzburg time. This included 90 minutes formal program followed by 30 minutes optional additional café-style conversation.

Regional BREAK-OUT GROUPS met on 6 October at 16:00-17:00, 7 October 9:00-10:00 and 16:00-17:00, and 8 October at 9:00-10:00 Salzburg time. Please join as many break-out sessions as possible according to your time zone.

To download a grid schedule click here.

Key questions

Our plenary conversations explored the following key questions:

October 6th: What is the role of criminal and civil liability in supporting corporate accountability? Are governments and their agents being effective in holding corporations and their officers and directors to account? When should directors be held criminally and civilly liable for wrongs committed by their corporations?

October 7th: What is the role of investors in holding directors to account? How is the practice of activist stewardship evolving and what impact will it have on shaping accountability?

October 8th: What is the role of senior management and directors in ensuring the company meets appropriate standards of accountability? What personal responsibility do directors hold to help support accountability? What about senior management?

To further unpack these ideas, additional regional conversations took place between the plenaries, allowing for deeper dives and wider debate.

Participant Profile

The Forum is primarily intended to benefit directors and principals of corporations organized and operating in various jurisdictions who want an off-the-record opportunity to explore and address some of the greatest challenges facing them as directors in the coming decade. The aim is to help them return to their boardrooms with new ideas which they can implement, and with new partnerships and insights, so that they can become thought leaders and change makers for the coming decades.

Within the overall group, directors have been supplemented by additional voices representing other constituents, based on their relevance to the topic and ability to present constructive but divergent views. These included senior managers; judges, regulators, and policymakers; lawyers; thought leaders and academics; investors; and representatives of key civil society interest groups.

Since its inauguration in 2015, the Forum has welcomed participants from 26 countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the USA.