Board DevelopmentStructures and Relationships

Good corporate governance is both formal and personal – it is about the structures and the relationships that bring about sustainable shareholder value.

Middle East companies today have a unique window of opportunity to differentiate and create value through good governance

The Praesta difference Board development

Working with Praesta means benefitting from coaching at its best. For more than a decade and across 20 countries including the Middle East, we have worked in one-to-one coaching relationships with thousands of leaders and with their teams.

From AXA, Booz & Co., Citibank, and Danone to Unilever, Vodafone, Walt Disney, Xerox, Yahoo, and Zurich; the world’s great organisations choose to work with us because we are good at what we do: challenging and supporting senior leaders as they refine their strengths, raise their game, and transform their organizations for better business results.

Praesta coaches have senior leadership experience themselves. They are trained and certified to an internationally accredited standard. They work within a well-defined quality assurance process that includes independent supervision and continuous professional development.

At Praesta, all our work with Boards has a common root: we add value to the people who make up the Board, individually and systemically. It is their strategic contributions that most affect organisational performance.

The Boards we work with are many and varied. They include listed, private equity and family businesses; public sector organisations; and professional partnerships. Our services are adapted to the unique requirements of each Board.

We work with individual Chairs, CEOs and Directors supporting their drive to do the best-possible job. New Governance Codes in our region place the spotlight on both formal structures and Board composition. So it is not surprising that Board Chairs are asking if they have the right mixture of skills and perspectives on the Board, and if the structures and processes are as effective as they can be.

The Praesta Difference

“Drawing up a corporate governance plan is relatively

easy, but there may be some soul searching to do first.

The Chairman and key shareholders often need to think

through the personal implications of implementing solid governance

and make some personal choices about how this will affect their

own relationships and leadership practices.”

Chairman’s sounding board

We work with existing Chairmen to refine their approach to Board leadership, and we assist new Chairs as they step up to the role. Being Chairman of an organisation, particularly of one with a high public profile, is a unique challenge. The role demands different leadership skills and behaviours to those commonly practiced by CEOs and other senior executives, from whose ranks Chairs are often chosen.

CEOs coach

We act as coach to many CEOs – first-time appointments and others – as they get to grips with their agenda and move it forward. A CEO’s job is one of the most demanding and complex there is. CEOs are all-powerful, yet must keep many diverse stakeholders on-side. They must be convincing on strategy whilst mastering the detail. They are fully accountable and responsible for their organisations but rely completely on others to get things done.

Developing directors

Many executive and non-executive Directors who join a Board for the first time find it is an experience for which they are almost completely unprepared. We help them comprehend and become confident in their new “cabinet” role, and thereby make a valuable contribution

Succession

We help talented executives become credible, attractive candidates for Board positions, and continue to support them as they step up.

Boardroom diversity

Praesta recognized internationally as a leader in the area of Board diversity and particularly in preparing women leaders to be excellent candidates for Board positions - and excellent contributors once appointed.

Board shadowing and facilitation

Most Boards can benefit from the insights of an experienced and objective observer who joins them in the midst of their routine work, or in special off-site meetings specifically designed to enhance Board dynamics.

Board review and evaluation

We conduct sensitive, insightful Board reviews that enable Chairmen and Directors to identify aspects of their Board’s work that, if done differently, will improve its effectiveness. Our reviews typically cover two things: what the Board works on (content) and the way it works on it including process, behaviours and culture. We then support the Board as it implements changes in its arrangements.

Family businesses face special challenges when implementing strong governancePraesta has extensive experience with family businesses in the Middle East region — both from the inside and the outside.

We understand that family businesses face special challenges when it comes to implementing good governance. We know that the stakes are high and things can get personal. Family companies represent 95% of the private sector economy in the region. Most are in transition now from the founders to 2nd generation ownership. Research indicates that fewer than 10% of these companies survive their 3rd generation of family ownership.

We work with owners and professional leaders to create more sustainable systems of governance that help family companies succeed and endure. This means addressing sensitive issues such as the separation of the Chairman and CEO roles, and succession planning for family members and professionals.

Our coaches work with individual leaders as well as with key groups such as the Board, executive committee, and family assembly. We often deal with the challenges of family dynamics entering into the business context: addressing emotional behaviours, finding a balance of formality and informality, and creating alignment between the family leaders and their talented professional executives.

Praesta coaches work as observers and facilitators helping Boards refine their communication and working interactions. By raising awareness of the personality styles at the table, the working environment created by the Chair, and level of participation of all members we identify ways that a board can improve its “group intelligence” and reach consensus in a reasonable period of time.

Our expertise in coaching teams allows us to focus on the development needs of the Board as a whole, without getting overly attached to the agenda of the Chairman, CEO, or another particular stakeholder.

We help clients to operate more effectively at board level. Many executives who join a Board for the first time find that this is an experience for which they are totally unprepared.

We help talented executives become credible attractive candidates for board positions. Working with one of our executive coaches creates a space in which the executive can share insights, come up with alternatives and rehearse next steps. It’s an enjoyable, rewarding and enriching experience focused on career and business outcomes.

A Board of a publicly listed company had focused its efforts for two years on operations to move out of a financial crisis. After restructuring the business, the Board knew it needed to shift from an operational to strategic focus.

A formal review of the Board’s role, composition and processes highlighted needed changes in the skill mix and respective roles of the executive and non-executive Directors. The review combined with individual feedback to Directors and meeting facilitation by Praesta helped to shift the dynamics to a more effective and rewarding Board.

Board Systemic Approach Case: The Right FocusCoaching Board MembersEnhancing the value of the Board’s group dynamic

Moving from operationalmanagement to strategic oversight

Applying skill and expertise toindividual circumstances

“As part of qualifying to be a chairman, ED or NED, individuals should be trained in how to take up roles, managing role

boundaries, the difference between power and authority and group dynamics. The role of the chairman is to effectively

manage the group processes within the board and its sub-committees. Effective leadership of a group involves holding

the balance between satisfying the group’s emotional needs and holding the group to “work”.

The Walker Report – Final Recomendations

Preasta Middle East FZ-LLCP.O. Box 500769 Dubai U.A.E.+971 50 351 0820www.praesta.com

Board Development