That boards should be made up of a majority of independent members, that goal has been achieved in almost every type of organization. While this achievement did undoubtedly raise the quality of governance, it turned out that «independent boards» were not the cure-all medicine that some anticipated. Already in 2008 in a policy paper on […]

Montreal, June 7, 2017 – Today, the Institute for Governance (IGOPP) is publishing a policy paper entitled: From independent to legitimate and credible – The challenge facing boards of directors. Back in 2008, IGOPP had noted that, despite its presumably crucial role and its omnipresence, the concept of «independent» board members lent itself to several […]

For a few months there, 2016’s political earthquakes seemed to signal a power shift away from the 1%. What started with the Brexit vote escalated when Donald Trump won the White House. Now, as we barrel toward an apocalypse incited by ill-advised presidential tweets, all that anti-elite anger has somehow been forgotten—and with it, any […]

Montreal, June 8, 2017 – The Institute for Governance (IGOPP) is unveiling today the results of a study about the quality of governance at 46 Quebec State-owned enterprises, which collectively have revenues of $63 billion, employ some 65,000 people, receive more than $4 billion in subsidies and generate more than $4 billion in dividends for the […]

By virtue of his long-standing commitment and exceptional contribution to the evolution of the governance of our public and private organizations, on May 17, 2017, professor Yvan Allaire, executive chair of the board of the Institute on Governance (IGOPP), will be named a Knight of the Order of Montreal, the city’s highest distinction. On May […]

The debacles of Enron, Worldcom and others in 2001-2002 were imputed in good part to the “flexibility” of accounting norms and the artistry in their interpretation. As a result, regulators, governmental and professional, greatly tightened the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to which all publicly traded companies must rigorously adhere. Any breach of the GAAP […]

Board members with extensive experience readily observe, and often comment, that the quality of governance and a board’s effectiveness result as much from subtle, dynamic, intangible factors as from strict observance of the fiduciary and formal aspects of governance. These factors take shape in social interaction among members, in the style of the Chair’s leadership, […]

There is a frenzied rush for shareholders to get a new ‘right”, the right to put up their own nominees for board membership. Boards of directors, so goes a dominant opinion, are not to be fully trusted to pick the right kind of people as directors or to shift the membership swiftly as circumstances change. […]

[…] “Yvan Allaire, executive chairman of the board of the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations, was positive about the plan overall “It’s a giant step in the right direction,” said Allaire, praising the move towards share awards over stock options. Options have fallen out of favor in recent years in part because […]

Dr. Yvan Allaire, Executive Chair of the Institute for Governance (IGOPP) and Chair of the Council on the role of business- World Economic Forum, has moderated a session entitled “CEO Dialogue on the Role of Business” organised by the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2014. This session was attended by more than 100 CEO. To […]

In a recent commentary in The Globe and Mail, Gwyn Morgan, the former chair of the board of SNC-Lavalin, gives us his take on what happened within the engineering giant and offers some advice to improve corporate governance. The gist of his piece bears on how hard working and diligent the chairman and the board […]

In an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail of July 26th, 2013, Mr. Gwyn Morgan, the former chair of the board of SNC-Lavalin gives us his take on what happened there and offers some suggestions to improve corporate governance. The gist of his piece bears on how hard-working and diligent were the chairman and […]

The Executive Chair of the IGOPP’s Board of Directors, Dr. Yvan Allaire, has been appointed Chair of the Council on the role of business in the 21st century. The Global Council brings together some 17 influential leaders from the world of international business, elite universities and the media. Professor Allaire has been a member of […]

The imminent initial public offering of Facebook Inc. shares has the hallmarks of a momentous event: the number of instant millionaires and billionaires, the implicit market value of a toddler company, the young age of its founder, and so on. But what is also remarkable about the Facebook IPO is the way its founder intends […]

The Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations proposes a new and original approach to the issue of director independence In a report released today entitled The Independence of Board Members: A Quest for Legitimacy, the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGPPO) proposes that any organization governed by a board of […]

The Financial post Business magazine noted that there is an elusive quality to the guru business, and perhaps an illusive one too. The magazine selected Dr Yvan Allaire as one of the five gurus in Canada that the business world loves them. These are the ones who combine intellectual heft with glowing charisma and a […]