The winners of this year’s ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute Awards have been unveiled in our first ever virtual ceremony on 26 November. You can find more about our winners below, and at icsa.org. uk/awards where you’ll find the full citations from our judging panel. We’d like to congratulate all our winners and say thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination, joined us for the ceremony or stayed for the virtual after-party. Congratulations are also in order for Rebecca Waite, Assistant Company Secretary at National Grid plc for submitting the winning entry for our governance themed cocktail of the night, the ‘Shake-Holder Engagement!’ Special thanks go to our headline sponsor, Nasdaq,and thanks, too, to our judges Anna Bateson FCG, Victoria Penrice FCG, Wendy Stanger, Peter Swabey FCG and Derek Woodward FCG. If you missed the ceremony, want to replay your favourite bits or want to hear a few words from the winners themselves, you’ll find them all by following the link below. In the meantime, we look forward to seeing you at next year’s Awards on 16 November 2021 at our regular home, the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London. Be sure to check our website in the spring, when nominations for 2021 will be opening.
Company Secretary of the Year
Winner: Paul McCullagh, Company Secretary, Barclays Europe
The judges said:
“Paul is a company secretary whose skills and experience read as textbook examples of what one would hope to see from a company secretary working in a large and complex corporate environment. Paul was nominated by the Chair, and with the full support of the board. That is a significant achievement and demonstrative of the high regard in which he is held”.
Governance Professional of the Year
Winner: Paul Denton, Deputy Company Secretary, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
The judges said:
“Paul is a valued team member undertaking a very challenging role in what is a particularly difficult time for the sector in which he works. He is passionate about what he does, “lives and breathes” governance and offers both practical and emotional support to others. He is in many ways a credit to the profession in many ways”.
Governance Champion of the Year
Winner: Fiona Chalk, Governance Consultant & Trainer, Governance4FE
Highly commended: Julian Baddeley, Deputy Group Company Secretary & Corporate Counsel, Aviva plc
The judges said:
“Fiona’s nomination describes someone of vision and energy, a writer, trainer, mentor and leader motivated by a strong streak of altruism and an understanding of the link between good governance and outcomes for pupils and students. Fiona embodies the qualities for which our judges were looking in a governance champion of the year”.
The One to Watch
Joint winners: Francesca Fossey, Company Secretary, TMF Group and Louise Robinson, Manager, Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets
The judges said:
“Francesca came into her role just as lockdown took effect and immediately made an impact. She “hit the ground running” and showed adaptability and responsiveness in working with clients. Louise, meanwhile, attested to the challenges faced by many nominees in lockdown and the judges were struck by the way she supported colleagues to deliver a continuity of service”.
Team of the Year
Winner: Company Secretarial team, Inmarsat plc (now known as Inmarsat Group Holdings Limited)
The judges said:
“This was a standout nomination which described a team of just four people who had delivered a huge amount of work. The judges were particularly struck by the fact that the Inmarsat team had taken on such a large project without bringing in any additional resource, working with the board, management and external stakeholders”.
Service Provider of the Year
Winner: Tapestry Compliance
The judges said:
“Tapestry this year took what the judges described as a very forward-looking approach to the challenges posed by coronavirus. This was a strong nomination which demonstrated clearly how the Tapestry team had gone above and beyond in these exceptional times, making a valuable and creative contribution to its clients’ businesses”.
Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year
Winner: Ordinary Residency policy review – North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
The judges said:
“The nomination described an collaborative initiative that took its cue from customer feedback and included representatives from local communities. The judges were struck by the fact that the work was framed as part of a wider programme of works and enjoyed support at the most senior levels”.
Governance Project of the Year
Winner: Governance maturity evaluation project – Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE), United Arab Emirates
The judges said:
“In a year when the quality of nominations was stronger than ever, this was a standout. It was striking in the way it both described the work involved and spelled out its wider strategic significance. Particularly noteworthy was the way MOHRE used their review not just to transform their own work but to share their learning with other parts of the organisation”.
