As an IoD member in France, you are part of an influential membership organisation with a growing network of international branches and affiliates.
You can enjoy an exclusive range of business benefits and services to support you and your business activities in France, including free access to prestigious premises in Paris. All IoD benefits are global so you can enjoy the comfort of all IoD premises in the UK and elsewhere.
IoD France is hosting events for members and non-members, including business breakfasts, networking cocktails, and presentations from the leaders of the business community.
The Institute of Directors was founded in 1903 in the UK and received Royal charter in 1906. The IoD has over 100 years of experience in representing, supporting, and setting standards for directors.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.
Thursday 13th October saw a lively debate held at the British Embassy on principles of Corporate Governance in the light of French & British approaches to the subject of conflicts of Interest.
The meeting was opened by Michael Ward of the British Embassy, who reinforced the importance of good governance for international trade, in particular noting the reputational impacts that scandals in this area can bring about.
Michel de Fabiani, president of FBCCI then introduced the debate, commenting on the significant changes that have happened in governance rules, especially since the law of 2005 in France imposing the need for independence in the role of "administrateur"
First to speak was Noëlle Lenoir, one of France's premier constitutional lawyers, youngest judge of France's conseil constitutionnel (and its first woman member), responsible for the report which was at the basis of France's bioethics law, and minister for European affairs in the Raffarin government. Mme Lenoir currently practices law in Paris and is professor at HEC, visiting professor at NYC Business school & LSE. We were offered a sweeping tour of the theme of good governance which is, in her view, at the heart of democracy: transparency is a fundamental principle. For Mme Lenoir, who gave a number of examples of apparent conflicts of interest, there is a significant difference between the continental approach, more focused on institutions and managing for the long term, and the "Modèle Anglo-Saxon", often too focused on short-term capitalism: managing conflicts of interest is about courage.
Dr Roger Barker, head of Corporate Governance at the IoD and member of the board of ecoDa, visiting lecturer at Said Business School (Oxford University) and co-author of IoD's guide to governance "the Effective Board" responded to Mme Lenoir. For Dr Barker, the truly independent board member is almost an impossibility: comparing the demands of independence of that role to Plato's descriptions of the philosopher king, Dr Barker insisted on the need to recognise challenges to independence & be transparent about them. Referring to psychological studies about decision-making & self-criticism, he recommended the appointment of directors who are not "team players" and who have the courage to stand up to CEOs.
A lively debate ensued, where the challenges of Private Equity were raised (and we were treated to very different perspectives of the risks and benefits of this type of capitalism), the challenge of appointing independent directors, the possibility of codifying independence and difficulty of regulating for independence of thought & courage.
The debate concluded with the two debaters highlighting once again the codified continental model and the principles-based UK model. The participants were able to ask further questions & network over a cocktail.
During the 10th of October Conference opening, the second session of the ESSEC course "Women Be European Board Ready" by Viviane De Beaufort, Guy Le Péchon, member of the Institute of Directors France ExCom and Associé/Gérant of Gouvernance & Structures presented "UK views on Board Member recruitment in the UK".
Anyone who is interested in viewing the slides of this presentation may send Guy an e-mail to this address: info@g-et-s.com."
For further details on all IoD Paris events please contact france@iod.net
As a member you are automatically assigned a branch and encouraged to give your views on local issues and take advantage of networking opportunities in your area. All members are welcome to attend events at any branch.