The role of non-executive chairman was discussed here on Tuesday at a conference organised by Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG) and Pakistan Business Council (PBC). The speakers said that the subject is gaining significance recently, while having a non-executive chairman on board, is currently a debatable issue, globally.
The UK based international speaker and Senior Advisor at Nestor Advisors, Ken Rushton, in a detailed presentation gave his views on the subject in the light of international practices. Zafar M. Khan, who has served on different capacities at the various boards, discussed his experiences with Pakistani state-owned enterprises.
Former commerce minister and Chairman Pakistan Business Council, Razzak Dawood while speaking on "Perspectives from family-owned businesses in Pakistan", said that the boards have a great deal of freedom in determining their role within the legal context. Hence, it is the job of the chairman to explicitly choose the role it will play and its choice must be based on a good understanding of the overall family development and the company's specific situation and the available capabilities and talents within the family and professional team.
He said that a board has to decide how it wants to be engaged with the company and its management. "It may be necessary to have a watch-dog role in one company and a pilot role in another depending on circumstances.
"If Business families are to grow and develop into great national interest they will require great chairman of boards", he said. Salim Abbas Gilani presided over the programme while President and CEO of PICG Fuad A. Hashimi and Chief Executive, PBC Kamran Y. Mirza also spoke on this occasion.