Earlier this week Governance Institute had its National Conference at the Sofitel in Sydney, and what an event! Thank you to everyone who joined us for a number of exciting sessions, and anecdotal feedback I received at the networking functions and on the show floor was very positive, and I’m proud to have been President in the year this event took place. It seems to get better every year I attend, well done to Megan Motto and her events team for putting on such a world-class event.
As President, there are also a number of formalities I am required to perform at National Conference, including chairing our Governance Institute General Meeting, and the ICSA Australian AGM, as well as overseeing the election of new board members.
We also announced the new president for 2020, John Mazengarb, who I have worked with for a number of years, and is an excellent choice to lead the board next year. I will hand the reigns over to him formally at the end of December.
The most important (and fun!) part of being President is issuing Governance Institute’s President’s Award. This acknowledges a person who has made a substantial and sustained contribution in the form of exceptional service to the work of Governance Institute.
The recipient of this year’s President’s Award has done this several times over, and is a very deserving recipient.
He has gone above and beyond so many times, I’ve lost count.
He completed his Chartered Secretary studies through the UK division of ICSA in 2000, and joined as a Fellow member in 2004, and has significant company secretarial experience having worked in several listed organisations in Australia and the UK.
He has served the governance and risk management community via his contribution as a member of the Board (2012–2016). He was also an active member of the Victorian State Council during 2008–2016, and is a long-standing member of our Legislation Review Committee and a former chair of that Committee.
He has gone above and beyond so many times, I’ve lost count — he has presented at numerous Corporate Governance Updates, Governance and Risk Management Forums and National Conferences (and has sat on the committees that organised these events), and has been integral in jointly establishing and hosting a discussion forum for the top 50 ASX Company Secretaries in Melbourne.
His measured and thoughtful contributions are highly valued by his fellow committee members, as is his willingness to help out on working groups, submissions and industry roundtables.
Finally, back when Governance Institute was still known as Chartered Secretaries Australia, he won the 2007 Young Governance Professional of the year. He has been with us nearly his entire career, and was even our President in 2016.
You haven’t guessed who this is yet?
I am proud to announce that Governance Institute’s 2019 President’s Award recipient is Simon Pordage. Well done Simon, and congratulations. I can’t imagine a more deserving winner.