National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Reinforces Need for Director Education

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National Association of Corporate Directors

Feb 09, 2010, 10:31 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), the largest membership and services organization for board members in the United States, today reaffirmed the importance of and its commitment to director education. At a time when new SEC disclosure rules call for greater transparency of board member qualifications, coupled with a void left by RiskMetrics Group's (www.riskmetrics.com) recent announcement to eliminate the education metric from its corporate governance ratings, the NACD confirmed that it will continue to provide the industry's leading certificate-based director education and in-boardroom services for the largest and most complex companies around the world, as well as all publicly traded, private and non-profit companies.

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Myron T. Steele, the Chief Justice of Delaware's Supreme Court recently commented on the importance of director education in a conversation with Ken Daly, NACD's CEO and President. Chief Justice Steele said, "No one should underestimate directors' need for continuing education about corporate governance. Directors have a fiduciary duty of care that they owe to the institution they serve. The proper exercise of that duty of care includes efforts to be fully informed about the investor and legal communities' views about best practices in corporate governance. Ongoing educational programs on corporate governance provide a critical and necessary service to directors nationwide and increase investor confidence."

NACD believes that director education remains a vitally important board performance requirement for all publicly traded, private and not-for-profit companies.

"Based on our 2009 survey results, boards are now linking director education to their overall effectiveness," said Ken Daly, President and CEO of NACD. "So we are confident that boards will continue to establish self-imposed continuing education guidelines even if it's no longer a factor in RMG corporate governance ratings."

RiskMetrics Group has indicated that the decision to exit the educational course tracking and course qualification business was a business decision. Further, according to recent press reports, RiskMetrics Group has also put its entire business up for sale.

"We continue to believe that director education is every bit as -- if not more -- important than it ever was before," said Pat McGurn, Special Counsel at RiskMetrics Group. "Our hope is that the SEC's new rules requiring disclosure of directors' skill and qualifications will lead more boards to require that their members attend such programs. We also believe that market self-regulators should consider making such continuing boardroom education mandatory via a listing standard requirement. Our decision to phase out CGQ is what led us to give up the accreditation process."

NACD offers its members -- full corporate boards, individual directors and board members -- unique access to industry-leading and proprietary research, regulatory and corporate governance thought leaders and progressive educational curriculum that accommodates director experience levels and specific roles of the board. Ranging from its renowned Director Professionalism certificate course and a wide range of topic-specific webinars, to customized in-boardroom advisory services, to intensive knowledge-sharing forums for key committee chairs and lead directors, NACD delivers all of its programs "by directors for directors" based on over 30 years of corporate governance experience and research.

About NACD

Founded in 1977, the National Association of 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 empowering members through education, a forum for peers to share ideas, and an extensive knowledge base of information and publications. NACD fosters collaboration among directors and governance stakeholders to shape the future of corporate governance. Learn more at www.nacdonline.org.

SOURCE National Association of Corporate Directors