Stewards of the Future

Fireside chat with the author, Helle Bank Jorgensen and Prof Mervyn King

Climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have become some of the biggest challenges faced by 21st-century board directors.

 

Today’s boards must contend with a wide range of stakeholders who can affect the fortunes of a company — investors, customers, suppliers, employees, politicians, and activists, among others.

 

This book demonstrates that for long-term profits and sustainability, boards must have the insight to ask the right questions of management on complex issues such as climate change, ESG, corruption, cybersecurity, human trafficking, supply-chain resilience, and much more.

 

With insightful contributions from over one hundred world experts that make up the Competent Boards’ faculty for the Climate and ESG Certificate and Designation Programs, this book provides board members and executives with a practical guide on what is required today to develop not just boardroom competencies, but thriving, future-fit organizations.

Many boards struggle with translating purpose and sustainability into the heart of their strategies, yet it is increasingly vital for long-term success. This book by Helle and Competent Boards is very timely, practical, insightful, and, for boards that do care about the long term, actually fun to read.
Paul Polman
CO-FOUNDER AND CHAIR, IMAGINE; FORMER CEO, UNILEVER

About our guests

  • Helle Bank Jorgensen
  • Prof. Mervyn King
VIEW AND PURCHASE THE BOOK HERE

+27 11 717 3300
info@goodgovernance.academy

Wits Business School, 2 St Davids Pl, St Andrew Rd, Parktown, 

Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa

Follow us on

© 2024 Good Governance Academy

Helle Bank Jorgensen

CEO, Competent Boards

Helle Bank Jorgensen is an internationally recognized expert on sustainable business practices, with a 30-year record of turning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks into innovative and profitable business opportunities. She works with many global Fortune 500 board members and executives, as well as smaller companies and investors.

 

Helle is the founder and chief executive of Competent Boards, which offers online climate and ESG programs that draw on the experience of over 150 renowned board members, executives, and investors. Hundreds of directors and senior executives have enrolled in these programs to mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities presented by ESG and climate change.

 

A regular keynote speaker at major events, Helle is also the author of the newly published book Stewards of The Future: A Guide for Competent Boards, an Amazon bestseller. This book shows boards must have the insight and foresight to ask the right questions of management on complex issues such as climate change, ESG, corruption, cybersecurity, human trafficking and supply-chain resilience to realize long-term profits and sustainability.

 

Helle serves at:

  • Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence’s Sustainability & ESG Insights Council;
  • World Economic Forum (WEF) Expert Network for Corporate Governance, Leadership, and Emerging Multinationals;
  • His Royal Highness Prince of Wales A4S (Accounting for Sustainability) Global Expert Panel;
  • The Non-financial Digitisation Working Group of the Impact Management Project (IMP);
  • The Reuters Panel of Expert Judges for the Responsible Business Awards;
  • Canadian Climate Governance Experts –- a Commonwealth Climate & Law Initiative.

She has served as the Chair of the European Sustainability Reporting Association (ESRA), the Global Compact Network Canada, Datamaran, and as a member of the Sustainability Advisory Panel of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and the Sustainability Policy Group of the Institute of European Accountants (FEE).

 

She trained as a business lawyer and state-authorized public accountant (CPA) in Denmark, and holds a master’s degree in business administration and auditing. She is a former PwC audit and advisory partner in Denmark and the United States, leading the firm’s sustainability and climate practices.

Helle has pioneered corporate reporting of ESG as part of the widening recognition that environmental, social, and governance issues are a crucial contributor to any organization’s success—or failure. She created the world’s first “green account” based on lifecycle assessment, and the first integrated annual report that combines ESG with financial performance. She has worked on natural capital accounting for the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank.

 

In 2020 she was awarded the Global Impact Award and named one of “5 people in ESG to look out for,” and she was recently selected as one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in the Green Economy in the US and Canada for 2022. Helle is also the author of many thought-leading articles.

Prof. Mervyn King

Patron, Good Governance Academy

Mervyn King is a Senior Counsel, former Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa, and designated Chartered Director (South Africa). He is Professor Extraordinaire at the University of South Africa, Honorary Professor at the Universities of Pretoria and Cape Town, and a Visiting Professor at Rhodes University. He has honorary Doctorates from Wits University and Stellenbosch University in South Africa, Leeds University in the UK, and Deakin University in Australia.

 

Mervyn is honorary fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales; the Institute of Internal Auditors of the UK; the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; the Certified Public Accountants of Australia; the Chartered Institute of Public Relations of the UK, and the Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.

 

Mervyn is Chair Emeritus of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, as well as of the Value Reporting Foundation (incorporating the International Integrated Reporting Council and SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). He has received Lifetime Achievement Awards for promoting quality corporate governance globally, from several institutions.

 

Mervyn chairs the Good Law Foundation and has chaired the United Nations Committee of Eminent persons on Governance and Oversight. He is a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group to the World Bank on Corporate Governance and of the ICC Court of Arbitration in Paris. Mervyn currently chairs the African Integrated Reporting Council and the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa and is Patron of the Good Governance Academy.

 

Mervyn has been a chair, director and chief executive of several companies listed on the London, Luxembourg and Johannesburg Stock Exchanges. He has consulted, advised and spoken on legal, business, advertising, sustainability and corporate governance issues in over 60 countries and has received many awards from international bodies around the world including the World Federation of Stock Exchanges and the International Federation of Accountants.

 

He is the author of many books on governance, sustainability and reporting, the latest being “The Healthy Company.”

Terms and Conditions

  • The Good Governance Academy nor any of its agents or representatives shall be liable for any damage, loss or liability arising from the use or inability to use this web site or the services or content provided from and through this web site.
  • This web site is supplied on an “as is” basis and has not been compiled or supplied to meet the user’s individual requirements. It is the sole responsibility of the user to satisfy itself prior to entering into this agreement with The Good Governance Academy that the service available from and through this web site will meet the user’s individual requirements and be compatible with the user’s hardware and/or software.
  • Information, ideas and opinions expressed on this site should not be regarded as professional advice or the official opinion of The Good Governance Academy and users are encouraged to consult professional advice before taking any course of action related to information, ideas or opinions expressed on this site.
  • When this site collects private information from users, such information shall not be disclosed to any third party unless agreed upon between the user and The Good Governance Academy.
  • The Good Governance Academy may, in its sole discretion, change this agreement or any part thereof at any time without notice.

Privacy Policy

Link to the policy: GGA Privacy Policy 2021

The Good Governance Academy (“GGA”) strives for transparency and trust when it comes to protecting your privacy and we aim to clearly explain how we collect and process your information.

It’s important to us that you should enjoy using our products, services and website(s) without compromising your privacy in any way. The policy outlines how we collect and use different types of personal and behavioural information, and the reasons for doing so. You have the right to access, change or delete your personal information at any time and you can find out more about this and your rights by contacting the GGA, clicking on the “CONTACT” menu item or using the details at the bottom of the page.

The policy applies to “users” (or “you”) of the GGA website(s) or any GGA product or service; that is anyone attending, registering or interacting with any product or service from the GGA. This includes event attendees, participants, registrants, website users, app users and the like.

Our policies are updated from time-to-time. Please refer back regularly to keep yourself updated.

Search