A panel discussion at the launch event of the Cyprus Institute of Directors & Corporate Governance focused on the geoeconomic shifts that are affecting governance and board value.
Speaking at the panel on 9 Marcg, Dinos Lefkaritis, the CEO of Petrolina (Holdings) Public Ltd, said that more needs to be done in Cyprus at the level of governance. He described the journey of taking the company from private to public in a difficult economic period. He added that the decision to go public has helped to take a family-business to success, which has trickled to the second generation of the family and hopefully the third.
INSEAD Chaired Professor and Emeritus of Corporate Governance Ludo Van der Heyden said that shareholders like this growth as the face of the company becomes identifiable, spurring confidence in investors.
John Georgoulas, the non-Executive Director of ECOMMBX Ltd, said that, speaking from a tech point of view, it is important to train the board in technology, such as AI, so that they have a better understanding. Asked if technology is seen as a threat, he added that tech companies are not just private actors, as new technologies bring them closer to geopolitics, as in the case with the semiconductor issue with China. “Geopolitics are embedded into your board work,” he said, adding that tech companies are faced with these challenges, while maintaining innovation.
Speaking on the panel, Van der Heyden said that there has been an overreaction in the regulation of banks in Europe. “What the EU did to Cyprus savings accounts is a scandal,” he said, commenting on how regulation saved the assets of other Europeans in the financial crisis.
“We still don’t have a banking union,” he said, commenting on the EU and the progress in deepening the financial ties. “Europe is not taking the lead, because it is not building Europe,” he said.
He added that there should be less power at the centre and less regulation to spur thriving economies.
The panel was moderated by Cleopatra Kitti, Member, Board of Directors, CyIoDCG, Certified Independent Director, IDP-C, INSEAD.
