Member Story

Member Story : Silvana Glibota-Vigo FCG

CGI UK&I MS Silvana Glibota Vigo 1292X625px Final

Silvana is the Group Head of Secretariat at Keller Group plc and has been a governance professional for over 15 years. She is a fellow of the Institute.

What is Governance?

For Silvana, governance is about doing things properly, at the right time, purposefully, remembering lessons from the past and with the future in mind.

Governance is about doing things properly, at the right time, purposefully, remembering lessons from the past and with the future in mind 

What is a governance professional?

Silvana recalls that a few years ago she read one of those management articles about what should be one’s role in an organisation to be successful. The article referred to being an integrator and it didn’t make specific reference to governance professionals but somehow it struck a chord.

She has since thought of a governance professional as the ultimate integrator – a person with balanced orientations and behaviour patterns, who brings everyone (people) and everything (procedures) together to achieve a goal; a person who doesn’t take the decisions but someone who contributes and influences those decisions on the basis of their competence and knowledge.

The route to a career in governance

Silvana studied Law and International Relations at university in Argentina and in Spain, and while working in Gibraltar she came across the Diploma in Offshore Finance and Administration offered by CGI (back when it was ICSA, yes, all those years ago). She hasn’t looked back since…

The essential skills for success in governance

Silvana doesn’t think there’s only one essential skill but a combination of essential skills – a governance professional should be able to plan and organise in order to anticipate and enable, whilst influencing all along the way.

The governance professional is the ultimate integrator

Career highlight

Silvana considers discovering a career in governance was a career highlight for her years ago, and more recently being approached by a former colleague who said she had inspired her to pursue a career in governance. That former colleague did make Silvana feel old, but she also felt very proud.

How did the Institute support your career as a governance professional?

Silvana feels that from day one, studying and sitting exams in Gibraltar, until this day, the Institute has always been with her.

Words of wisdom for the next generation of governance professionals?

Three things:
1. It is not personal
2. Most of the times you will find the answer in your predecessor’s files
3. Be authentic

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Our Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme is for governance professionals, company secretaries, and individuals from law or finance transferring to governance roles.