Transitioning from COVID-19: A Corporate Governance Perspective
As Australia looks to pivot towards life beyond COVID-19, it is timely to ask what will be the major issues affecting corporate governance of Australia’s corporations in a post COVID world? Has COVID spelt the end of traditional town hall style AGMs? Will companies more widely acknowledge their stakeholders, not just their shareholders? Do we need to have a proper debate about the management of non-financial risk? Will executives be more accountable through their remuneration systems? Are directors really overwhelmed by continuous disclosure obligations for listed companies? We ask a panel of industry experts for their views in a Q&A style discussion.
Peggy O’Neal AO is the first female president of the Richmond Football Club, with extensive experience as a director and committee member of a raft of government, non-profit and trustee company boards in the superannuation and financial services sectors and the areas of sports, gender equality, athlete wellbeing and mental health. She is also a lawyer, specialising in superannuation and financial services law for more than 25 years. From 1995-2009, she was a partner of Herbert Smith Freehills. Presently, she is a consultant to Lander and Rogers.
Peggy is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is also a member of Chief Executive Women and the Melbourne Forum. In December 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Swinburne University for her work in gender equality and developing sport leaders. In June 2019, Peggy was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for her services to Australian rules football, financial services law and women in leadership roles.
Peggy holds a Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia and a Diploma in Superannuation Management from Macquarie University.
Iris Davila is Head of BlackRock Investment Stewardship team in Australia and a member of BlackRock Australia's Board and SteerCo Committees. In the Stewardship role, Iris is responsible for engagement and proxy voting activities in relation to Australian and New Zealand companies in which BlackRock invests on behalf of clients.
Iris’ service with the firm dates back to 1998 where she started as an analyst in New York. She has also worked in Scotland and Europe. Iris holds a BA degree, cum laude, in political science, and certificates in French and Latin American Studies, from Princeton University in 1998.
Suneeta Sidhu leads the Governance team in ASIC’s Supervision Group. In this role she oversees the focussed supervision of governance practices of large listed and financial services firms to achieve firm specific and market wide improvements. Most recently this has involved ASIC’s intensive supervisory reviews of the oversight and management of non-financial risk and executive remuneration.
Suneeta has over 20 years of legal and regulatory experience including senior roles at ASIC overseeing corporate governance, fundraising, mergers and acquisitions and policy development. Before joining ASIC, Suneeta worked in the corporate teams of Gilbert + Tobin and Sly and Weigall (now Norton Rose Fulbright). She has also worked as inhouse legal counsel at Westpac Banking Corporation. Suneeta holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Sydney.
