A philosopher once said that “an individual’s character is their fate”—it’s no wonder then, that this topic is gaining a lot of traction in the boardroom.
It’s foundational to effective decision making and shapes what we—as directors—notice, how we engage with executive management, what we value, and how we act and set our priorities. It’s critical to the functioning of a board as well as to the effectiveness of individual directors. Moreover, as we have seen from the 2008/9 financial crisis to more recent reputation-ruining events in industries as diverse as retail banking, automotive manufacture and marketing, hospital administration and consulting services, in private, public and not-for-profit sectors—character-related issues represent a key risk factor that boards must address pre-emptively, before the consequences and costs are manifested.
On December 8th, we are pleased to have Gerard Seijts—a thought leader on this subject— moderate our panel of deeply experienced directors who will engage participants in what will be an insightful conversation exploring the critical role of a leader’s character in effective leadership and governance as well as what we can do to ensure that character is emphasized in the recruitment, selection, development and assessment of boards and executives as is reflected in the cultures of the organizations we govern and the behaviours of our leaders.
Please note that space is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Moderator:
Dr. Gerard Seijts is a professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Ivey Business School. He is frequently called upon to speak and write on leadership, change, organizational alignment and culture as well as on character strengths and how essential they are to sound business leadership. He is actively researching the impact of various dimensions of leader character on individual and organizational performance as well as developing practical ways of assessing and developing them.
Panelists:
Bill Aziz is Chief Restructuring Officer of U.S. Steel Canada and Walter Energy Canada. He is President of Blue Tree Advisors and has more than 28 years of advisory, turnaround and corporate restructuring experience. Bill is a director and Chair of the Investment Committee of OMERS and a director of Maple Leaf Foods. He is a member of the advisory board of Fengate Capital and is a member of the Leadership Advisory Council for Cross-Enterprise Leadership at Ivey. He is recognized for his change management and corporate-culture transformation expertise.
Dr. Jeffrey Gandz is Professor Emeritus at the Ivey Business School. He has been a director of Maple Leaf Foods and CMA Holdings (MD Financial) and has worked with many companies such as TD Bank, General Electric, HSBC, OMERS, Royal Bank and Telus to develop executive leadership competencies and character.
Barbara Stymiest is Chair of the Board of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and a Corporate Director of Blackberry, George Weston and Sun Life Financial. She is Chair of the Advisory Board for the Ivey Institute of Leadership and serves as a Trustee of the University Health Network . She is formerly Group Head of Strategy, Treasury & Corporate Services at the Royal Bank of Canada.
For details visit the Institute of Corporate Directors at:
https://www.icd.ca/Events/Upcoming-Events/Ontario-Chapter/2016-2017/Assessing-CEO-Character-Leadership.aspx
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