PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 4, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From compensation to enterprise risks, corporate directors face new demands and fresh scrutiny as they guide their companies through tough economic times. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Spencer Stuart have redesigned their corporate governance program to meet the growing demand from current board members for fresh knowledge. Corporate Governance: Fresh Insights and Best Practices for Directors will run February 24-26, 2009.
"The role, duties, and best corporate governance practices of boards of directors are evolving and changing every year," says Thomas P. Gerrity, professor of management and academic director of the program. "With new external issues and internal changes, it is healthy to always think of yourself as a new director. The job to be done is ever more complex and changing at a faster rate than ever before."
The three-day program joins the expertise of faculty from the Wharton School-- the most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world -- and Spencer Stuart -- the leading firm for board counsel and recruitment -- in addition to that of current and former directors, CEOs, special counsels, and other leading corporate governance experts. It is preceded by an optional finance day with a deeper exploration of value creation, performance management, and competitive benchmarking using company financials.
Among the areas of board governance that are receiving increased attention in today's climate are compensation, as executive pay comes under tougher scrutiny, and risk management, as operational risks become broader and more complex. "You can't anticipate every '1,000-year storm,' but ensuring that management is thinking through broad options helps position you to do the right thing," Gerrity says. "One thing this financial crisis taught us is to examine multiple scenarios going forward and to shock-test our response plans and strategies with true crisis events."
The corporate governance program provides more than research and knowledge. It offers board members an opportunity to examine board leadership with peers from diverse industries and outside experts. "Directors need courage and they need to ask tough questions," says Julie Daum, practice leader for the North American Board Services Practice of Spencer Stuart, who worked with the Wharton School to develop the program. "The best directors can get right to the salient points and are strategic. Directors are now concerned about trying to be as good as they can be, to learn from other directors and corporate governance experts to keep themselves current and improving."
Executive Education at the Wharton School
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania-- founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school -- is recognized globally for intellectual leadership and ongoing innovation across every major discipline of business education. The most comprehensive source of business knowledge in the world, Wharton bridges research and practice through its broad engagement with the global business community. The School has more than 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, and doctoral students; more than 12,000 annual participants in executive education programs; and an alumni network of more than 84,000 graduates.
Informed by in-depth, groundbreaking academic research and extensive industry experience, Wharton Executive Education programs can span anywhere from a few days to six weeks or longer. Each executive education program offers a supportive and challenging context where participants gain the skills necessary for their next level of executive development. Participants who come to Wharton from a diverse range of industries engage with faculty who are the most cited, most published faculty of all top-tier business schools. With a profound influence upon global business, Wharton faculty are the sought-after, trusted advisors of corporations and governments worldwide.
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CONTACT: The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Media Contact: Wendy Parsons, Director of Marketing Communications, Aresty Institute of Executive Education, +1.215.898.7239, parsonsw@wharton.upenn.edu;Program Contact: Deb Giffen, Program Director, +1.215.898.2599, giffend@wharton.upenn.edu