Board Training: What is Useful, What is Necessary and What is Essential?

Impact Boards EM are excited to continue our "Virtual Boardroom" series for our members to meet virtually to network and share knowledge on specific board themes.

This one-hour discussion will be an opportunity for members to share their knowledge and experience of having served on boards across emerging and developed markets around the world.

The next discussion will focus on Board Training: What is Useful, What is Necessary and What is Essential in an era of high uncertainty?

Boards today are operating in an environment defined by unprecedented complexity. Rapid advances in AI and technology, geopolitical fragmentation, shifting regulatory frameworks, climate pressures and evolving stakeholder expectations are reshaping governance at a pace that challenges even the most experienced directors. Boards are no longer managing predictable risks – they are leading through unknown unknowns where traditional playbooks no longer apply.

In this context, continuous board learning is no longer optional; it is an imperative. Directors must remain up to speed with technological disruption, regulatory change and systemic global risks in order to provide effective oversight, maintain resilience and guide long-term strategy. This is especially critical in emerging markets, where global shocks amplify local volatility and where boards must simultaneously strengthen governance fundamentals while navigating geopolitical, economic and institutional fragility.

This session explores how boards can distinguish between:

• Essential training – capabilities tied directly to existential risks and resilience, such as AI oversight, risk culture, sustainability exposure and geopolitical awareness.

  
  

• Necessary training – core governance functions including audit, risk, regulatory frameworks, strategy and oversight of innovation and digital transformation.

  
  

• Useful training – skills that enhance board effectiveness, collective judgment and constructive challenge in increasingly complex decision-making environments.

  
  

Join us for a live discussion with Kees Hoving, financial institutions expert and IBEM member, and David Risser, CEO of Ethics and Boards and former Managing Director at Morrow Sodali, as we examine how boards can build the capabilities required to govern effectively in times of deep uncertainty – and how emerging-market boards can turn volatility into an opportunity to shape stronger governance ecosystems.

Expect open and insightful discussions as well as the chance to make valuable connections in an informal online setting.

Moderator:

Gregorio Saichin is CEO & Co-Founder of Impact Boards EM

About the speakers:

Kees Hoving is an experienced leader in the financial industry with key competencies in Sales, Change Management and Corporate Governance. He is currently a senior advisor to EMIR and YAS capital based in Dubai.

Kees has had an illustrious career in Banking and Financial Services with Deutsche Bank and RBS in Europe and the Middle East, where he served as CEO of the ME and Africa.

View his LinkedIn profile here

David Risser is a Board and Governance expert, with a unique international perspective. He has worked with boards of leading companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, GCC and Africa.

He is currently the CEO of Ethics and Boards, a trusted Governance Intelligence and Advisory firm tracking 400+ governance metrics for key companies around the world.

Previously, David was Managing Director of the Board & Governance Practice of Sodali&Co a TPG Company - London-Sydney-New York, and Managing Director at Nestor Advisors, London, Governance Advisory.

View his LinkedIn profile here