Over the past several years, both the Board of Governors and the executive committee of the Presidents Council have spent significant time and effort reviewing and evolving their respective internal governance.
In February 2020, the Society Partnership Advisory Council (SPAC) established a working group to review how governors and Presidents Council Representative (PCRs) interact. They wanted to take a fresh look at how PCRs engage as liaisons between societies and the Board, how governors can better extract their knowledge of the society network and their needs, and how best to leverage PCR expertise to help with decision making.
The goals of the working group, led by the SPAC co-chairs, Leah Bennett, CFA, and Aaron Brown, CFA, were as follows:
- to more effectively unlock PCRs’ knowledge and expertise (especially regional) to help with strategic Board decisions impacting societies.
- to bring the partnership between the Board and the PCRs closer in order to further strengthen the connection to societies and to understand their strategic needs.
- to make the PCR role more effective, rewarding, and fulfilling so that we can recruit top volunteers to ensure a strong feedback loop.
- to improve Board recruitment by empowering PCRs to proactively recommend candidates with society volunteer experience to the Nominating Committee.
The working group delivered a set of recommendations that was approved by the Board of Governors on 17 July 2020. The list below highlights these changes. Going forward, the PC chair or vice-chair plus two PCRs will attend Board of Governor meetings and join the main table to encourage open participation and a diversity of society viewpoints.
- Co-chairs of SPAC will report into Executive Committee of the Board to create a direct conduit for strategic society issues to be addressed at the Board level.
- Increase the focus on recruiting those with society experience to be potential Governors.
- Increase the scope of SPAC to encompass all issues affecting societies, including risk and financial issues.
- Increase the number of Governors and PCRs on SPAC to ensure adequate regional representation.
- Implement an annual joint planning between Governors, PCRs, and Society Relations staff to ensure better alignment and resourcing.
These adjustments represent a substantial change from the current state. The co-chairs are working on success metrics for the changes and have committed to 12- and 24-month reviews to ensure that the new structure is delivering the desired outcomes.
Please reach out to your society’s Presidents Council Representative with any questions regarding these changes.
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