Dr James Onyoin a Board Member at LEAD and a Certified Public Accountant, stressed the need to have NEDs who are "free of any encumbrances" so as to be able "to whip management" where need be.
According to experts, the role of a non-executive director is becoming more critical to an organisation yet is often hardly equally recognised.
A non-executive Director (NED) is a company's board of directors member who does not possess executive powers or engage in the company's day-to-day running.
For this, in many sectors, they are paid an allowance for sitting in meetings, at most, quarterly, except for those who are also shareholders, and this cannot match the remuneration of those in managerial or executive positions.
However, according to the League of East African Directors (LEAD), this should not be the case as their role goes beyond just sitting in a meeting but setting policies and giving a company direction.
LEAD Chief Executive Officer, Phiona Nabaasa Wall says it is no longer prudent to ignore the role of NEDs, especially with the changing business environment that is stressing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, which are usually not very appealing to management.
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ESG does not bring in immediate profit and therefore, may not be a priority of the management. So, the non-executive directors come in handy to establish and enforce this," she says.
A NED provides strategic guidance and oversight to the operations of the company and brings independent expertise and perspective, as well as focusing on governance, strategy, and oversight.
For this, LEAD set out to promote the culture of appointing non-executive directors, especially amongst Small and Medium Enterprises, stressing the significance of considering skills, experience and independence from ownership and management.
It is for these same reasons that LEAD, which comprises experts and professionals in different fields, the thought of awards to not only recognised best-performing NEDs but also encourages younger and upcoming ones to take the roles more seriously.
Speaking at the launch of the Awards, Wall said that most members of a board just go to sit in board meetings and then become part of the furniture.
"We aim to ensure companies have real NEDs who know what to do and are not just part of the furniture," she says.
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The 3rd NED Awards 2024, set for November 28 under the theme, "Visionary Leaders: A Celebration of Excellence in the Boardroom," will feature two new categories: Outstanding Chair and Most Outstanding CEO and Secretary, aimed at honouring CEOs who empower NEDs with the resources they need.
Dr James Onyoin a Board Member and a Certified Public Accountant, stressed the need to have NEDs who are "free of any encumbrances" to be able "to whip management" where need be.
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"The NED Awards is our humble way of recognizing NEDs who have played a crucial role in helping organizations achieve their goals. Honouring impactful leadership across East Africa!," said Onyoin.
The group also feels that previously there have been very few non-executive directors, naming Late James Mulwana, Japheth Kato, Late Ateker Ejalu and Dr Elly Karuhanga among others, saying that they were being overworked, hence the need to train more talent to take up the roles.
Registration for the awards and nominations is ongoing through the organisation's website:
www.eadirectors.org.
