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National Association of Corporate Directors Launches Campaign to Strengthen Corporate Governance and Oversight of Nation's Corporate Boards

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 March 2009, 05:00 CDT

Campaign Aims to Restore Public and Investor Confidence in Corporate America

WASHINGTON, March 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) launched "America's Challenge for Corporate Directors: Renew Commitment to Corporate Governance and Oversight Excellence," a nationwide campaign challenging every corporate board and individual director to restore public and investor confidence in publicly traded companies by strengthening corporate governance and oversight of America's corporations.

"NACD believes corporate boards and their directors must lead the charge in improving board performance and corporate oversight," said Kenneth Daly, president of NACD. "'America's Challenge for Corporate Directors' is a roadmap for boards to assess current practices and make improvements where needed."

The campaign urges boards to:

• Embrace NACD's Key Agreed Principles to Strengthen Corporate Governance for Publicly Traded Companies and use them as a framework for assessing board practices and as a tool that can be adapted to each board's specific needs
• Assess the board's practices with an emphasis in four critical areas: executive compensation, risk oversight, corporate strategy and transparency
• Commit to continuous director education and knowledge exchange around the Key Agreed Principles and around leading practices and emerging issues that have been identified by NACD's White Paper Series
• Provide greater transparency by annually sharing board progress on these commitments

"If we as a nation are to emerge from the present economic crisis, confidence in Corporate America must be restored," said Bonnie Hill, lead director of the Home Depot. "NACD's campaign provides the framework for boards to renew their commitment to outstanding corporate governance and oversight excellence, which are essential to rebuild America's trust in businesses."

The result of 18 months of collaboration between NACD, hundreds of corporate board directors, dozens of business leaders and the government, this campaign is centered on board action -- getting boardrooms across America actively involved in the process of restoring public and investor confidence. This call to action is meant to serve as a roadmap that every corporate board can use. Every quarter, NACD will publish on its website and in its print publication those corporate boards that have accepted the challenge. Annually, NACD will provide public recognition in the form of a "Seal of Excellence" to NACD boards that report that they have fulfilled NACD's commitments.

"We, who are directors, have a key role in restoring trust in corporate America," said Barbara Hackman Franklin, chairman of the board of NACD and a director of Aetna and Dow Chemical. "I urge every corporate board to heed NACD's call and join the effort."

About NACD

Founded in 1977, the National Association for Corporate Directors (NACD) is the only member-based nonprofit organization for corporate directors providing tools, professional support and the platform for making corporate directors more effective in boardrooms across the country. With nearly 10,000 members, NACD improves director performance by educating and empowering members through training, publications and an extensive knowledge base of information. NACD fosters collaboration among directors and governance influencers to shape the future of corporate governance.

For more information, visit www.nacdonline.org/DirectorChallenge.

SOURCE National Association of Corporate Directors

Source: PR Newswire

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