Training for recently appointed or future directors
The IN-Board Academy Program is a professional training program for recently appointed or future board members. The participants learn the best practices of board dynamics from Faculty chosen among Belgium’s most experienced board professionals and business leaders. The program aims at contributing to more effective boards in any type of organisation.
The program consists of three learning forums. It starts with 6 thematic workshops or Labs (4.30-9.00pm) organised in the boardrooms of Belgian companies. In these workshops, participants reflect on the challenges of the board. The Labs are built up as a mix of experience shared by the Faculty and case studies that are discussed with the group. These Labs are complemented by a 21/2 day training at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, during which participants reflect on their own personal skills in relation to board member’s work.
The third forum consists of the writing of a white paper. Participants are requested to explore a current board-related topic and to position themselves on that topic. The IN-Board program was created within the national alumni associations of INSEAD. This “peer-learning” initiative was launched in 2009 and has now expanded over 6 European countries. The access to this “by alums for alums” program is reserved to INSEAD alumni.
Key benefits
- Understand the fundamentals of board dynamics as well as the role and the duties of the director
- Learn good practices from industry leaders sharing their experience in an open and informal way
- Learn through case studies and from peers through the workshop format
- Understand strengths, weaknesses, biases and postures of a director siXng at a board meeting
- Build or expand personal networks, become part of an active international IN-Board alumni community
Our program
Lab 1 - Legal and corporate framework, governance, responsibility, liability
Topics
- Governance framework and codes: listed companies/Code Buysse, one-tier vs two-tier boards, role, responsibilities and liabilities of directors, role of the secretary-general, committees of the board, shareholder’s meeting
- Legal framework: civil and criminal liabilities, risk mitigation for directors, responsibilities of the executive committee, communication to the market, sensitive information, 4 types of activism, board composition guidelines, legal standards re performance, monitoring and compliance, etc.
Faculty
- Francoise Roels, Executive Committee & Board Member Cofinimmo, Chair of Woman on Board
- Philippe Lambrecht, Secretary-General FEB-VBO, Member of Governance Commission
- Jean-Pierre Blumberg, Co-Head of Global M&A Practice, Linklaters
- Patricia Van De Wiele, Secretary General, Proximus
Corporate partner: Cofinimmo
Lab 2 - Risk Management and Control
Topics
- Audit committee: role and duties (terms of reference), flows of information, due diligence, independence
- Risk management: risk assessment and mapping, probability and impact, emerging risks, mitigation measures, lines of defence
- Internal control and audit: effective control, financial reporting, compliance, role and responsibilities of the statutory auditor, supervision of the internal audit
- Ethics and integrity: compliance and integrity, fraud management, whistleblowing
- Stakeholders of the audit committee: the dialogue with the board, the executive committee, the statutory auditor, the internal auditor
Faculty
- Eric Van Hoof, Partner EY
- Diego du Monceau, Independent Director, former Chairman Audit Committee
- Xavier Bedoret, Chairman of the Audit Committee of Cenergy Holdings
Corporate partner: EY
Lab 3 - Decision making in boards in times of crisis in the company
Topics
- Corporate values, mission, objectives
- Crisis and business risk management
- Role and position of board members and management (chairperson, executives, independents, non-executives) in business transformations and crisis situations
- Stakeholders relationships and management of “social interest”
- Crisis communication: social media, battlefield communication, pro-active communication, sensitive information), who communicates what, when and where
Faculty
- Kenneth Bonheure, Partner McKinsey & Cy
- Francois Gillet, Executive Committee Sofina, Board Member Colruyt et al.
Corporate partner: McKinsey & Company
Lab 4 - Decision making and board dynamics, the chair – CEO relationship
Topics
- Composition, qualifications, diversity, functioning, the ideal board and committees
- Roles of the chairperson, the non-executives, the independents, the CEO/executive directors
- Decision making process: Board/Excom inter-action
- Assessment of board performance: self-assessment, external, benchmark
- Attiudes and behaviours, team performance, biases, etc. how to avoid boards being an “incompetent team of competent people”
- Observations on types of boards you are sitting on: mid/small caps, non for profit, public, venture capital, listed, industrial, services, etc..), management of growth, re-structuring, internationalisation
Faculty
- Jean-Charles Uyttenhove, Board & C-level Excellence, Country Head Belgium IN-Board Academy
- Vincent Doumier, Independent Board Member / Chairman
- Evelyn du Monceau, Chair UCB, Board Member Solvay
Corporate partner: BNP Paribas Fortis
Lab 5 - Family governance and family business boards
Topics
- Company types and stages: listed/unlisted, with(out) reference shareholder, growth/maturity, entrepreneurial/multi-generational, local/global, etc.
- External CEO vs. family chairman and vice versa
- Family governance: family representation and control, “responsible” ownership, conflict resolution, next generation, etc.
- Role of companies vs. society
- Corporate values, ethics, corporate social responsibility, stakeholder vs shareholder value
Faculty
- Jef Lievens, Roots advocaten, Instituut van de Familiebedrijven
- Nicolas Boël, Chairman Solvay Group
Corporate partner: Solvay Group
Lab 6 - How professional investors impact board dynamics
Topics
- Types of boards (mid/small caps, non for profit, public, venture capital, listed, industrial, services), and situations (start-up, seed, growth, re-structuring, internationalisation, etc.)
- Private equity governance model: profile and role of nonexecutive directors in a private equity backed company
- Composition: which and when, expertise, diversity, type of independent directors
- Functioning: agenda alignment, time horizon management, CEO entrepreneur and management vs shareholding, conflict resolution
Faculty
- Michel Casselman, General Manager PMV
- Alex Brabers, Growth equity investor
- Frank Maene, Managing Partner Volta Ventures
Corporate partner: PMV
INSEAD - Fontainebleau leadership module: “becoming a more effective board member”
The Belgian IN-Board Academy participants can either start or finish their program with the “Leadership” module, organised by INSEAD on the Fontainebleau campus. The participants in this module are a mix of IN-Board participants from the participating countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia. This module takes place over a long weekend and focuses on the behavioural dimension of work in the board as well as the personal effectiveness of the board member. The training is based on INSEAD’s (Manfred Kets de Vries) proprietary and reputable methodology. It is also a great opportunity to “re-smell” the INSEAD experience and liaise with international IN-Board members.
Topics
- Board dynamics and board effectiveness
- Leadership development
- Personal leadership style based on a 360° appraisal and group coaching sessions
Faculty
- Professor Eric van der Loo, Affiliate Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD
- Professor Jaap Winter, Professor Corporate Law, Governance and Behaviour at VU Amsterdam and Visiting Professor of Corporate Governance at INSEAD
Whitepaper
About
The participants are requested to write a white paper that will be presented to the press. The work on the white paper goes on throughout the year and in parallel with the Belgian labs. The group selects a topic from a shortlist by the end of Lab 2 and finalises the paper by the end of Lab 6. Past published white papers include:
- “Board Leadership in the Age of Disruption” (Wave I, 2014)
- “Will Independent Board Members Bring Value to Your Company” (Wave II, 2015)
- “Board Companionship as a model to train Board Members” (Wave III, 2016)
- “Supporting SMEs to Dare Boards” (Wave IV, 2017)
- “Insights on the functioning of Profit and Non-Profit Boards in Belgium” (Wave V, 2018)
- “What’s going on outside the formal Board Meetings?” (Wave VI, 2019)
Participants profile
The access to this program is limited to the INSEAD alumni (MBA or Executive Programs) and members of the IAAB. Approximately 50 alumni have attended the Belgian program so far. The participants come from diverse sectors of industries: listed companies, private companies, family enterprises, start-ups, government, private equity and consulting firms. The participants are experienced executives and board members. They have an international profile and bring an extensive experience into play. Some have already prior board experience, but this is not a prerequisite to participate.
Belgium IN-Board Committee & Academy
This program is organised by the Belgian IN-Board Committee, under the leadership of Jean-Charles Uyttenhove:
- Jean-Charles Uyttenhove, Country Head
- Muriel Pletsers, IN-Board Academy Coordinator
- Xavier Bedoret
- Brigitte de Vet
- François Gillet
- Guus Keder
- Paolo Senes
- Luc Vanbecelaere
- Erik Weytjens
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