3rd South Eastern Europe Corporate Governance Roundtable: 21-22 November 2002

The 3rd meeting of the South Eastern Europe Corporate Governance Roundtable took place in Zagreb, Croatia on 21-22 November 2002, co-hosted by the Zagreb Stock Exchange. Discussions focused on the responsibilities of the board and the role of stakeholders.

• Agenda
• Synthesis note
• General Information on the South Eastern Europe Corporate Governance Roundtable

Materials

Session 1 The responsibilities of boards in corporate governance

• The role of boards - Paulo Camara, Head of Issuers Department, CMVM, Portugal
• The Effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Directors' Responsibilities and Liabilities - Robert Strahota, Assistant Director, US SEC
• The Role and Function of Supervisory Boards in the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Faris Njemcevic, Director of PROF-IN Fund Management Company, Bosnia & Herzegovina
  - presentation
  - paper

Session 2: The structure and work of boards

• Introduction on how boards should be structured to perform their functions adequately - Leo Goldschmidt, Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee, APCIMS-EASD, Belgium
• Moulding Corporate Boards: A Key Challenge for Bulgarian Corporate Governance - Plamen Tchipev, Institute of Economics, BAS & Centre for Study of Democracy, Sofia, Bulgaria
• Functioning of Boards and Directors in Romania - Angela Ionita, Board Member, Terapia SA; Vice President, East Fund Management, Romania
• Shareholder, Employee vs Management-Old And New Relations In A Transitional Environment - Lidja Bizic, Lawyer, Belgrade Stock Exchange, Serbia & Montenegro

Session 3 : How to develop board professionalism

• The responsibilities of the board - Darko Marinac, Chief Executive Officer, Podravka d.d., Croatia
• Qualifications, Training and the Recruitment of Directors - Tony Renton, Deputy Director, Professional Development Department, Institute of Directors, UK
• Creating Institute of Independent Directors in Emerging Markets - Alexander Ikonnikov, Chairman of the Board, Independent Directors Association, Russian Federation

Session 4: The role of Institutional Investors in corporate governance

• Presentation by Colin Melvin, Director of Corporate Governance, Hermes Pensions Management Ltd., UK
• Institutional Investors and Corporate Governance Reform: The Case of Bulgaria - Boyan Belev, Senior Fellow in the Economic Program, Center for the Study of Democracy, Bulgaria
• The role of Institutional Investors in Corporate Governance: Case of Romania - Cristina Hodea, Investment Advisor, Bucharest Equity Research Group, Romania

Session 5: The role of employees in corporate governance

• The Role of Employees in Corporate Governance - Margaret Blair, Sloan Visiting Professor, Georgetown University Law Center, USA
• Employees as Stakeholders: The Challenge of Building an Ownership Culture - Demir Yener, Yener Global Finance Associates, USA
  - presentation
  - accompanying paper
• The Role of Employees as Stakeholders in Corporate Governance: The European View - Roustem Davletguildeev, Consultant, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD

Session 6: The role of creditors as stakeholders

• The role of creditors as stakeholders by Jean-Pierre Méan, Chief Compliance Officer, EBRD
• The responsibilities of the board and the role of stakeholders by Branko Devic, General Manager, Legal Division, Raiffeisen Bank, Croatia
• The role of creditors as stakeholders by Aurelian Dochia, Managing Director of BRD/Societe Generale Corporate Finance, Romania

Background Paper

• Functioning of Boards and Directors in Romania - Angela Ionita, Board Member, Terapia SA; Vice President, East Fund Management, Romania

The fourth meeting of the South Eastern Europe Corporate Governance Roundtable will take place on 6-7 March 2003 in Sarajevo, co-hosted by the Securities Commission of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It will be a smaller meeting to complete the discussions and adopt the White Paper.