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The winners of this year’s ICSA Awards were announced at a glittering awards dinner at the Park Lane Hilton in London last night. Hosted by comedian Simon Evans, the awards welcomed 670 of the UK’s leading governance professionals who were there to celebrate the achievements of those organisations, individuals and teams that are leading the way in good governance and corporate reporting.

Nicola Caroll, Corporate Governance Director at Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, and Robert Lyons, Deputy Company Secretary at Marks and Spencer Group plc have been jointly named ‘Governance Professional of the Year’ at The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland’s 2021 Awards, which took place at the London Park Lane Hilton Hotel last night. The Awards, which were hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Dan Walker, recognise those individuals and teams who have excelled in good governance, helping organisations to better serve their stakeholders and society in the process.

The Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday of a new AI Safety Institute to explore the risks of AI developments is a very welcome step forward, as is the announced funding for a super computer and quantum computers which will be available to businesses. However, UK corporate boards must get a move on to prepare for the challenges ahead.

East Midlands branch past events

New CGIUKI guidance provides advice on how governance professionals can provide a new director with the information they need to be effective in their role.

According to a poll by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership, the majority of companies are prepared for the UK to leave Europe with no trade deal in place. Some 71% of respondents, the majority of which hail from finance, commerce and industry, said that they are very prepared for a no trade deal scenario. Just 9% are not at all prepared and an additional 20% were unsure of how prepared their organisation was at the time the poll was carried out.

Some 80% of respondents to a poll out today from The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership have confidence in the way their board is handling the current coronavirus pandemic. Just 2% have little confidence in the way their board is responding to the crisis.

According to a poll out today by ICSA: The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership, 36% of respondents confirmed that their company would be downsizing their office space in the future, but there is plenty of sentiment that offices will continue to serve a useful purpose as creative hubs and meeting spaces.