Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute: Directors Academy Certificate Program

Directors Academy Fall 2023

Directors Academy’s boardroom setting provides a small and targeted environment to foster interactive dialogue between participants and leading executives, corporate directors and governance experts. Directors Academy provides participants an understanding of the increasingly complex and ever-changing role of a corporate board member prepared to contribute to discussions occurring in the boardroom.

Upon completion of this two-day program, graduates are awarded a Certificate in Director Education. With over 40 graduates, Directors Academy supports graduates’ journeys to the boardroom. Alumni receive special access to resources such as current thought leadership, future Directors Academy program resources and priority invitations to key Gupta Governance Institute programs. The Institute also hosts alumni board biographies on its website, which serves as a resource for Nominating and Governance Committees and executive search firms who are seeking new board candidates.

Key Benefits:

• Earn credits toward a Certificate in Director Education, alerting other corporate directors, investors, regulators and stakeholders to your commitment to continued director education, leading governance practices and board leadership.
• Earn twelve Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits per program.
• Gain a board biography on the Gupta Governance Institute’s website upon completion of the program.

Day 1: Tuesday, October 24, 2023

8 – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast and networking

8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Session I: The Big Picture In this session, experts will cover the Board’s purpose, operating model, and committees therein, including the Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance, and Ad Hoc Committees. We will then cover director fiduciary duties and responsibilities toward shareholders and stakeholders.

12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Lunch

1:15 – 5 p.m. Session II: Board Oversight In Session II we will expand upon the topics learned in Session I to cover corporate strategy, plus risk, crisis, and talent management. Performance oversight and regulatory affairs will be discussed, including financial oversight, defining, and measuring performance, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Ethics & Compliance.

5 – 7 p.m. Reception

Day 2: Wednesday, October 25, 2023

8 – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast and networking

8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Session III: The Expanded Oversight of the Board The role of the corporate director has never been as complex as it is today. Topics previously considered to exist solely in corporate management’s purview are now considered to be areas of oversight for the Board of Directors, including cybersecurity, disclosures and reporting, data privacy, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will then expand into the realm of environmental, social, and governance matters, which have been elevated to levels of extreme value and importance in today’s corporations.

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 – 4 p.m.: Session IV: Journey to the Boardroom In Session IV we will hear from acting corporate directors regarding boardroom culture, positioning yourself for a board role, and presenting yourself as a director, including resources to create and improve upon your board bio and resume.

4 – 5 p.m. Presentation of certificates and wrap-up