The Corporate Ghana Hall Of Fame is a platform organized strictly for corporate/institutional Board Chairpersons and in some cases, non-executive Directors. It is unique in that, membership of this elite grouping also doubles as an award, in that membership is derived from a competitive selection process that identifies exemplary professional and personal capacities, accomplishments experience and conduct that sets members apart from and above their peers. Both executive and non-executive Chairpersons/non-executive directors are eligible to be considered for membership since members are accepted based on their skills and achievements in the areas of entrepreneurial vision, corporate governance and strategic management, which are the primary fields of activity for both types of chairpersons.
The Corporate Ghana Hall of Fame is a grouping of outstanding Board Chair Persons (both Executive and Non-Executive) and non-executive directors, which was initiated and is administered by The Business Executive Media Group. The core of its membership comprises corporate chieftains from the two aforementioned categories that have won TBE awards. Subsequently, membership has been expanded to include some corporate chieftains who were nominated by the original core members based on their consensus.
The Hall serves as a public policy advocacy group and business strategy think tank in addition to a business leadership networking platform and a management capacity building vehicle. The Hall now has a membership of over 60 exemplary corporate/institutional chieftains. Expansion of its membership is closely controlled to ensure that only corporate leaders of truly exceptional professional capacity and personal conduct are inducted as members, and that membership remains exclusive in line with the name of the grouping. Indeed the Hall includes among its members some of the most renowned, accomplished and respected non-executive Board members in corporate Ghana and their exemplary quality is reflected in the quality of the groupings activities.
MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA
The following criteria are used to determine who is invited to join the CHOF:
Each criterion is weighted by out Jury of Assessors, whose membership is drawn from the following:
Representation from the TBE Media Group which is the convening institution for the CHOF and provides the dedicated secretariat which provides the requisite support and administrative services for its smooth operations and activities;
Representation from among already inducted members of the CHOF who are in good standing and who are chosen by its entire membership;
Selected external identified experts in Board level corporate governance and strategic management who serve in a consultancy capacity.
Chairpersons who are conferred with awards by the TBE Group in their individual capacities for professional achievement are automatically nominated for membership. Members of the CHOF are also periodically invited to nominate chairpersons who are not TBE awardees for membership. However in all cases, nominees must go through a comprehensive due diligence/selection process before they can be actually inducted into the Hall.
This involves assessment by the aforementioned Jury of Assessors (JOA), using the criteria set out below. Each criterion is weighed to ensure that the qualitative assessments of each member of the JOA fits into an overall quantitative framework which makes the whole process scientifically measurable.
Each criterion carries a maximum possible score of 100 points making for a maximum of 1000 points as follows:
1) BOARD EXPERIENCE
This considers the length of experience a nominee has had at the Board level and the intensity of that experience, particularly the degree of involvement a board has had in the management of the company/institution and its impact on the fortunes of that institution.
2) BOARD INVOLVEMENT
This considers the degree to which the nominee has been involved in the activity of the Board he/she currently sits on, with regards to the number of Board meetings attended, membership of Board Committees and (where information is available) the key contributions to Board decisions. Where a nominee has only recently been appointed to the Board of the institution he/she currently is associated with, previous board experience e in previous institutions may be considered.
3) ENTREPRENEURIAL VISION
This measures the amount and quality of strategic vision the nominee has contributed to the growth profitability and overall fortunes of the institution – whether through understanding of the needs of consumer or business to business markets that the institution can exploit, or through opportunities in improved product/delivery channels, or more efficient internal control processes etc.
4) COMMITMENT TO GOOD CORPORATE GOVERNANCE This considers the nominees willingness or otherwise to adhering to best practice with regards to good corporate governance, especially with regards to separation of responsibilities between board and executive management and willingness to work together rather than in conflict with each other and the avoidance of conflict of interest if the nominee is involved at both the executive and non-executive board levels.
5) SPECIALIZED CONTRIBUTIONS
This considers contributions made through membership of specialized Board committees such as Finance, Audit, Human Resources etc.
6) SPECIALIZED SKILLS & EXPERTIZE
This considers the technical skills a nominee brings to bear on the activities and competence of the Board of which he/she is a member thus leading to the nomination for CHOF membership. Generally the more important the technical skill provided, the higher the assessment score.
7) SHAREHOLDING POSITION
This considers the contributions of the nominee to the equity base of the institution. This is measured in percentage of total equity terms rather than in absolute terms since a majority shareholding position in a relatively small company is of more importance than a larger absolute value, but minority shareholding stake in a relatively larger company. Generally, the larger the percentage equity stake in percentage terms, the higher the score earned by a nominee.
8) EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT CONTRIBUTIONS
This assesses the nominee’s contributions to the institution’s executive management, either as Executive Chairperson or Executive Director. Here a nominees activities in executive management are separated from his/her responsibilities as non-=executive Board members and assessed as such. Generally, the more the executive management contributions made the higher the score. Conversely an entirely non-executive nominee inevitably scores zero in this criterion’s assessment.
9) INDEPENDENCE
This measures the degree of independence the nominee shows in his/her contributions to the activities of the Board. Effectively this measures the independence of the nominee from ownership control; and exercise of authority. The higher the degree of independence the higher the score.
10) PERSONAL COMPORTMENT & CONDUCT
This criterion assesses the nominee’s personal integrity, transparency and commitment to professionalism over personal interest in any given circumstances. The nominee’s public image is an influencing aspect of scoring under this criterion.
