Page 49 - 2018 Powerlist

NEW Karl George managing director of the Governance Forum he heads up a Business, Corporates, Finaciers & Entrepreneurs
2018 cross-sector network of specialist organisations working to
Managing Director, The Governance encourage businesses to think more strategically about the
Forum benefits and importance of effective governance. During
his tenure he has established a university-accredited
board member training programme, the Effective Board
A thought leader and international established consultant Member scheme (EBM), to address the directorial balance
in governance, Birmingham-based Karl’s work informs the of businesses in age, gender and ethnicity.
corporate structures of hundreds of organisations across “It’s often said boards of directors are pale, male and
the UK. He has also made it his work’s mission to improve stale and one of the things I want to do is really tackle
diversity in boardrooms worldwide. diversity in the boardroom, whether it’s gender, ethnicity
An accountant by profession, having set up his own or age,” he says. “If you want to change anything you have
practice at the age of 23 before selling it 15 years later, to change it at the top of an organisation.”
he moved on to forge a renowned career as a business The Professional Footballers’ Association and FA
consultant working with boards and CEOs across the adopted the programme, and over the past four years it has
private, public and voluntary sectors such as KPMG, recruited and trained almost 80 mainly BME footballers
Aramex, the Professional Cricketers’ Association, the and coaches for boardroom roles. A founder of the
National Housing Federation and a string of NHS trusts. Association of Corporate Governance Practitioners, Karl
A visiting professor at Birmingham City University and also pioneered the UK arm of the American mentoring
author of several highly regarded books on governance, initiative 100 Black Men and was one of the founders of the
he developed a kite mark and process for governance – Young Directors Forum at the Institute of Directors. In 2004,
the Governance Assessment Process (GAP). In his role as he was awarded an MBE for services to the community.

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