MALE-HEAVY BOARDS TARGETED BY LARGE INVESTORS; IS YOUR BOARD HITTING THE BRAKES ON CEO SUCCESSION?

MALE-HEAVY BOARDS TARGETED BY LARGE INVESTORS; IS YOUR BOARD HITTING THE BRAKES ON CEO SUCCESSION?

Welcome to the start of a new month of Cannings’ business and media intelligence, with insights collected over the past week by the Cannings Team.

MALE-HEAVY BOARDS TARGETED BY LARGE INVESTORS

  • Investors have set a 40 per cent gender diversity target, in a push for more gender diversity on boards. Industry super fund HESTA is leading the charge and has been joined in its 40:40 Vision campaign by a number of other prominent fund managers. Read more in The AFR.

IS YOUR BOARD HITTING THE BRAKES ON CEO SUCCESSION?

  • According to Bain & Company, crises slow the most critical leadership decisions, with research showing CEO transitions during a recession decline by up to 32 per cent. Despite the uncertainty, some forward-looking boards have kept CEO succession planning high on their agenda, laying the foundation for a smooth leadership transition. An important part of that exercise is planning for three potential scenarios: emergency succession, post-crisis transition and long-term succession. Read about them here.

THE ROLLERCOASTER THAT WAS 2020 REPORTING SEASON

  • Some  interesting observations from corporate lawyers Gilbert + Tobin’s analysis of ASX200 companies during reporting season. It seems many companies fortified their financial position since the outbreak of COVID-19 with 21 per cent raising equity. Read more here.

GET READY FOR A FEAST OF M&A ACTIVITY, SAYS INVESTMENT BANK

  • With confidence starting to re-emerge in boardrooms, deal-makers say they expect an uptick in M&A activity in the final quarter, after a COVID-19 inflicted slump saw deal activity tumble to its lowest level in 17 years.  Read more in The Australian.

MORE CEOs GET BEHIND THE RETURN TO THE OFFICE

  • Like many bosses, SocietyOne CEO Mark Jones is keen to see more staff return to the office. He’s using the expiry of its JobKeeper payments this week as a catalyst to call for his people to come back into the building, even if it’s just for a few days a week initially. Read more about how he’s luring staff back in The AFR.

CANNINGS COACHING
Cannings’ coaches have been kept busy over the few past weeks, hosting seven workshops for six organisations, both in the private and not for profit sectors. The customised sessions covered:

  • Tips and tricks to ‘engage’ a virtual audience
  • Winning techniques when pitching or presenting
  • One on one media coaching
  • Media coaching refresher sessions for larger teams
  • Mastering panel presentation techniques

Visit our website here to get in touch with our experienced coaches.


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