Forget the structure - it's the people | 14 February 2024

The topic of GGI's main monthly webinar for February will be Forget the structure—it's the people.

The event is taking place on Wednesday 14 February 2024, from 08.30 to 09.30 and will be run virtually on Zoom.

Good governance regulatory recipes don’t produce good boards, but what does? The key isn’t structural, it’s social. The most involved, diligent, value-adding boards may or may not follow every recommendation in the good governance handbook.

What distinguishes exemplary boards is that they are robust, effective social systems.

This webinar examines what that actually means and how you can develop a high-performing board through a meaningful development programme. Our speakers are:

• Sir Ciarán Devane, who has occupied both senior executive (Macmillan, British Council) and non-executive (Chair, Health Service Executive and Clore Social Leadership) positions.
• Sim Scavazza, who currently chairs a significant integrated care board and whose background includes being on the boards of Miss Selfridge, Smartworks and London University of the Arts.
• Andrew Corbett-Nolan, who has supported numerous boards achieve their potential through development programmes.

The webinar will address:

• exploring first principles through to what is meant by a ‘high-performing board’
• achieving buy-in for board development from executives as well as non-executives
• developing boards under regulator stress and ensuring boards have authentic agency—'masters of their own ship’
• dealing with big personalities and pre-occupation biases

To register, click the link below and fill in the registration form:

Please email events@good-governance.org.uk should you have any queries.

Sim Scavazza

Sim is the Acting Chair of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board, having stepped up from Deputy Chair in April 2023.

She is also a non-executive director at Imperial College Healthcare Trust and London North West Hospital Trust, which forms part of the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative, where she chairs the Imperial People Committee and co-chairs the NWL Collaborative EDI steering group.

Sim is an advisor on race for the membership organization, NHS Providers.

Sim recently stepped down from the Court of Governors at the University of the Arts London, where she was vice-chair, also chairing the People and Remuneration Committees.

Maintaining her connection to HE, Sim is now Chair of the Ombudsman, The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education in England.

A strong supporter of the arts, design and fashion, Sim is a trustee for two charities, Smartworks, and the National Saturday Club. She also advises the London College of Fashion Business School.

Sim’s commercial background is in fashion retail, where she spent 30 years working for some go the UK’s best-loved high street brands, including as brand director for the young fashion chain Miss Selfridge. Sim is a Fellow of the RSA and a registered Mental Health First Aider.

Sir Ciarán Devane

Chair of the Health Service Executive in Ireland, Executive Director of the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University and formerly Chief Executive of the British Council and of Macmillan Cancer Support and board member of NHS England.

Before taking on his role with the Health Service Executive, Ireland, Ciarán was Chief Executive of the British Council and Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support from 2007 to 2014. He was educated at University College, Dublin, where he gained first-class honours degree in biochemical engineering. He then started his career as an engineer and manager for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) before becoming a management consultant, mostly with Gemini Consulting. He specialised in complex change programmes with companies such as AstraZeneca and Rolls Royce.

Ciarán has also held non-executive roles on the board of organisations ranging from small local charities to NHS England. He was awarded a knighthood in 2015 for his services to cancer patients. He holds a Master’s degree in International Policy and Practice from George Washington University, Washington DC.