On Board December 2009

Email Newsletter of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Nominations Service

Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa. Welcome to the fourteenth edition of On Board. In this edition:

• A career in governance: Is it possible? - an article by Jane Huria
• Article on Governance Careers online at professionelle.co.nz
• SpringBoard - a governance community for young directors
• Recent appointments to state sector boards and committees
• Changes to the Nominations team.

Click here for a .pdf version (106kB).

‘A career in governance: Is it possible?’

By Jane Huria

This is the second in a series of articles where women on our database share their advice and experiences in governance.

Jane Huria, of Christchurch, is a professional company director. She is a member of the ACC Board and the Legal Services Agency Board. Jane is also a director of HSR Governance Ltd, which provides corporate governance and shareholder advisory services nationally and internationally.

A career in governance in New Zealand is certainly possible. Achieving this career requires:

• a base of appropriate experience and skill sets, generally gained at a senior level
• an understanding of governance
• developing a network of professional influence
• communicating your aspirations for governance roles to those who make board nominations or appointments.

Some examples of how to communicate your aspirations for governance roles include responding to advertising for board members, or registering your CV with databases from which prospective board members are nominated, such as those operated by:

• the Ministry of Women’s Affairs
• the Institute of Directors in New Zealand
• COMU (Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit - formerly CCMAU - responsible for nominations for SOE, CRI and other boards)
• Te Puni Kōkiri
• Pacific Island Affairs
• the Ministry of Health
• the local city council holdings company
• the Find Directors website.

Once you gain a board appointment, building a career in governance requires performance: the application of time and diligence to the work of the board, an interest in your continuing professional development and the commitment to leave the board at the end of your term knowing that you have added value to the organisation.

Responding to my enquiry some years ago about the possibilities for a full time career in paid directorships, an experienced and well-respected governor said ‘don’t give up your day job’. Her point was that it is not always possible to secure board roles to match your skills, interests and available time, and that having a steady source of alternative income can reduce stress around the underlying uncertainties related to achieving a full portfolio of paid board appointments.

A wider view of a career in governance might also encompass governance consulting work, and governance teaching and coaching.

If you have a story or advice to share for a future issue of On Board, we invite you to contribute. Please contact Pamela Cohen at cohen@mwa.govt.nz.

Article on Governance Careers online at professionelle.co.nz

Professionelle.co.nz recently published an article by Adrienne Young-Cooper, about her journey to developing a governance career.

Adrienne is a director of Solid Energy New Zealand Ltd and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority Board, and is a director of Hill Young-Cooper Ltd, a resource management and local government consultancy. Her article describes how her governance career developed slowly. Adrienne emphasises that it did not unfold like a business career, that it was not simply a matter of receiving training and applying for positions.

She recommends several strategies for finding governance opportunities, including:

• networking, by tapping all your contacts and joining all relevant databases
• seeking guidance from more experienced directors
• using every board meeting that you participate in as an opportunity to learn and reflect on governance, relationships between board members, and on yourself.

Click here to read ‘Stepping up to Directorships’.

Professionelle.co.nz is an online community of professional women. Their website provides advice, support, and up-to-date research on issues faced by women at all stages of their careers and lives.

SpringBoard: A Governance Community for Young Directors

SpringBoard is a network that aims to encourage and develop the next generation of New Zealand directors and trustees, and promote age diversity around the board table. They’ve asked us to circulate the notice below:

YOUR GOVERNANCE SPRINGBOARD

Are you currently a director, trustee or board appointee of a company, trust or Not For Profit? Under 45 years of age?

SpringBoard is a 350+ member organisation that encourages and develops the next generation of New Zealand directors/trustees and promotes age diversity around the board table.

Our purpose is to:

• grow the skills and knowledge of young directors
• facilitate the sharing of ideas and experiences
• promote younger directors and trustees for appointment to established boards.

By joining the group you will develop your governance skills and knowledge and get the opportunity to meet and share ideas with others at a similar stage of their governance careers.

SpringBoard communicates via Linked In and meets every second month in Auckland and Wellington. We welcome further representation from women of all backgrounds.

For more information and to join, please visit springboardnz.org.

Recent appointments of women to state sector boards and committees

Congratulations to all the women recently appointed to state sector boards and committees. They include:

Changes to the Nominations Team

We’re pleased to welcome a new member to our team, following the transfer of Clare Needham to another part of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

Kara Pennington has several years of recruitment experience gained both in London and New Zealand. Her most recent role was with Hudson Global Resources, a multi-national recruitment and human resources firm.

In her final position with Hudson, as Talent Pipeline Consultant, she was responsible for sourcing qualified accountants and finance candidates from the United Kingdom for the New Zealand employment market. This was a new venture for Hudson and a newly created role that required Kara to move to London on her own to set up and launch the initiative.

Kara was also a volunteer at Wellington Women’s Refuge for a number of years.
Her involvement included membership on several of the organisation’s sub-committees responsible for funding, financial management, employment issues, and the training of new volunteers. In addition to her volunteer work she undertook the part time Administration and Volunteer Co-ordinator position whilst completing study at Victoria University.

Kara has been appointed as a Nominations Advisor. Working with Steve Hickey, she will be one of the people contacting you about upcoming vacancies.

Keeping in touch

We’re happy to talk with you either by phone or in person about your CV and your governance goals. If you are going to be in Wellington and would like to meet, then give Sean a call on (04) 916 5814.

 
The Team
Pamela Cohen
Director, Nominations Service
(04) 916 5849
email cohen@mwa.govt.nz

Sean Molloy
Senior Nominations Advisor
(04) 916 5814
email molloy@mwa.govt.nz

Steve Hickey
Nominations Advisor
(04) 916-5820
email hickey@mwa.govt.nz

Kara Pennington
Nominations Advisor
(04) 916-5837
email pennington@mwa.govt.nz

Joy Aberdein
Executive Assistant
(04) 916 5824
email noms@mwa.govt.nz

If you have any queries about the information in this newsletter, or the Nominations Service in general, please contact Sean or Pamela.