Mark Rigotti on EDU 2024 success

I can happily report we’ve had a record turnout this year, with more than 13,000 directors attending the EDUs in metropolitan and regional centres, writes AICD CEO Mark Rigotti MAICD. 

I left off the September issue with a preview of the 2024 Essential Director Update. I can happily report we’ve had a record turnout this year, with more than 13,000 directors attending the EDUs in metropolitan and regional centres. The numbers are a testament to your commitment to lifelong learning and staying at the forefront of contemporary governance, as well as to the calibre of these events and the efforts of AICD’s National Events team in putting them together.

This year’s distinguished EDU presenters — non-executive directors Christine Holman GAICD and Bruce Cowley FAICD — left us in no doubt where our focus needs to be, now and into the future. I’d like to thank them for their commitment and insights. Their presentations have helped lift our gaze and encouraged us not to shy away from the challenges we face on the important issues of culture, CEO succession, cybersecurity, AI and the weight of regulation, including climate reporting.

Each of these things alone, much less combined, can seem daunting. But the clarity and expertise Christine and Bruce have brought to the discussion are a real eye-opener for how we can navigate these difficult emerging issues.

Christine told us that all directors and employees will need to invest in AI literacy. Rather than a grand transformational project, she said it’s more about fostering a culture of light-touch research and development across the entire organisation — developing a solid understanding of capabilities and limitations, and the judicious allocation of capital to AI projects. On cyber, Christine reminded us that if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. And on climate reporting, she said the new mandatory standards mean we need to plan for transition — this is now core financial risk management.

Bruce focused on the importance of building a strong culture. Despite high-profile culture failures, he questioned if enough boards regarded poor culture as a strategic risk and recommended that culture be a regular agenda item. Similarly, he noted a tendency to let succession planning slide, and in light of cases where boards have been forced to let a CEO go early, he recommended preparing for the unexpected. He said it’s necessary to put yourself in the best position to respond effectively, and always have half an eye to CEO succession.