Legacy

More than 40 years of board education experience with the most prominent boards

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Date	Details
	In the mid-1970s trends in the relationship between business and society and abuses in compensation had a significant impact on the functioning of boards of directors, which were seen as weak.This led to new governance legislation. In 1977, IMD launched its flagship board program, focusing on the theme 'Boards in Transition'. Over three days participants discussed roles and responsibilities of boards, employee participation and the new balance of power, innovations in board practices.,
	Against the loosening of financial regulation, the issue framing boards became the abuses in value destruction due to a massive increase in M&A activity. The common theme was that boards needed to be more effective. HPB, with increasingly cumulative research on what made boards and individual board members perform at the highest levels, was already working with over 300 board directors to help them improve their own and their overall board's effectiveness. With the uptake of new information technology, HPB also helped boards get to grips with the opportunities and complexities of the nascent information age.
	As time spent on board work increased due to an increase in governance and financial regulation, HPB looked to helping board directors balance tensions in a paradoxical world; reflecting structural tensions that constantly threatened to undermine board effectiveness.
	The beginning of the 21st Century was typified with corporate scandals, which led to even greater regulation and a closer look at the work of boards. Diversity, particularly gender diversity was a key issue. HPB focused on the key question of 'what is the real value of boards?' The complexity of board work and the 'art' required to making boards work, was an overarching theme. Following the 2008 subprime and global economic crisis, the program gave a renewed emphasis to board composition and the role of shareholders, the role of the board in monitoring risk and creating strategy. In 2010 Professor Didier Cossin, founded the IMD Global Board Center to support board members by providing a unique & pertinent resources on current boardroom issues and latest governance trends.
	Today IMD Global Board Center programs are built on Four Pillars that effective boards must leverage:  focus, information, processes and dynamics.