About ECGI

About ECGI

ECGI is an international scientific non-profit association providing a forum for debate and dialogue between academics, legislators and practitioners, focusing on major corporate governance issues.

Click here to download the ECGI information brochure (March 2019)

Click here to access the ECGI 2022 Annual Report  

Click here to access the ECGI 2021 Annual Report 

Click here to access the ECGI 2020 Annual Report 

Click here to access the ECGI 2019 Annual Report 

Click here to access the ECGI 2018 Annual Report 

Click here to access the ECGI 2017 Annual Report 

Leading Research with Global Impact

Vision:

Corporate governance lies at the heart of our capitalist systems.  It is the interface between capital markets and companies, between employees and executives, and between society and the corporate sector.  It is the driver of what companies do, how they do it and the effects they have on others.  In other words, it sits at the centre of the success and failure of our economic systems.

As such it warrants knowledge, research and insights of the best thinkers, practitioners and policymakers of our age.  That is precisely what ECGI seeks to provide.   It draws on the finest minds in academia from all over the world to tackle some of the most important issues that confront business and governments today.  It uses the power of research to change ideas, influence practice and formulate policy to benefit all of us.

Corporate governance refers to the way in which private and public companies, enterprises, entrepreneurship and financial institutions are governed and run in relation to their purpose, values, ownership, representation, accountability, financing, investment, performance, leadership, direction, management, employment, law, regulation and taxation.  

The mission of ECGI is to assist the top academics in the field of corporate governance in bringing their research to the attention of leading practitioners, policymakers and thought leaders by making state of the art knowledge accessible and relevant to them.  It promotes the development of new ideas through research that extends the boundaries of our understanding of how corporate governance contributes to the flourishing of business, economies and societies.  

 

Activities:

The ECGI is an international scientific non-profit association providing a forum for debate and dialogue between academics, legislators and practitioners, focusing on major corporate governance issues and thereby promoting best practice.

Its primary role is to undertake, commission and disseminate leading research on corporate governance. Based upon impartial and objective research and the collective knowledge and wisdom of our members, it can advise on the formulation of corporate governance policy and development of best practice and undertake any other activity that will improve understanding and exercise of corporate governance.

In seeking to achieve its aim of improving corporate governance, it acts as a focal point for academics working on corporate governance in Europe and elsewhere, encouraging the interaction between the different disciplines, such as economics, law, finance and management.

The Institute articulates its work by expanding on the activities of the European Corporate Governance Network, disseminating research results and other relevant material through this website.

It maintains close links with all its institutional members and other organisations that are active in the field, for example the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) and the Global Corporate Governance Forum (GCGF).

Membership of the Institute is open to both individuals and organisations. See Membership for benefits and eligibility criteria.

Background:

The European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) was founded in 2002, having been established on 15 October 2001 as an international scientific non-profit association under Belgian law in accordance with its original Articles of Association. It has been established to improve corporate governance through fostering independent scientific research and related activities.

Since then, the European Corporate Governance Institute has published over 900 Working Papers on important topics, it has acquired over 660 members from 54 different countries, has hosted over 20 international conferences, many workshops, provided training for 18 doctoral students, compiled a directory of over 460 international Corporate Governance Codes and counts three Nobel Laureates among its founding members. These achievements were made possible by the loyal support of ECGI research members, institutional partners, patrons and network of academic and practitioner members.

In 2016, the European Corporate Governance Research Foundation was established in November  2013 by Belgian Royal Decree and launched in May 2016. The principal aim of this Foundation is to provide sufficient funding in order that the ECGI can embark on a more ambitious and far-reaching programme of research activities with all the necessary resources and support that this requires. To learn more about ECGRF, you can visit www.ecgrf.org

 

Governance of the Institute:

The Institute was established on 15 October 2001 as an international scientific non-profit association under Belgian law in accordance with its original Articles of Association. Founder Members of the ECGI were signatories to these Articles.

The Articles were revised in March 2004 to accommodate the introduction of a new category of membership - the Research member.   They were further revised at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the ECGI on 11 October 2013 in order to accommodate, inter alia, the introduction of a new category of member - the Patron member. See the revised Articles which were approved by the membership at that meeting.

The Institute is headed by a Board of Directors, a majority of whom are drawn from academia in order to ensure the ECGI's academic independence. Other directors have strong ties with the private and public sectors. All are impartially committed to furthering the Institute's goals and mission.

In accordance with its Articles of Association, the Chair of the Board, who does not have to be a member of the Institute, must be a non-academic. The Vice-Chair must be an academic. Day-to-day management of the Institute is undertaken by an Executive Director, responsible to the Board. This post carries a renewable term of 3 years. The current holders of these offices are:              

Chair:

Herman Daems, Chair, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)           

Vice Chair:   

Geneviève Helleringer, Vice Chair, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)        

Executive Director:

Marco Becht, Professor of Finance and the Goldschmidt Professor of Corporate Governance, Solvay Brussels School for Economics and Management, Université libre de Bruxelles

General Manager

Elaine McPartlan

ECGI, c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium, Palace of the Academies, 1 rue Ducale - Hertogsstraat, 1000 Brussels. Tel.: +32 2 550 2340

The ultimate authority is the General Assembly, which comprises all the Members of the Institute, each of whom has one vote. The powers of the General Assembly are detailed in the Articles of Association. It meets at least once a year, providing a forum not only for the ongoing governance of the Institute, but also an opportunity for members to meet, interact and debate matters of importance and topicality.

A number of committees have been appointed to undertake specific functions of the Institute. The actions recommended by these committees have to be approved by the ECGI Board, and ultimately the Members.

See the articles as modified by the Extraordinary General Meeting of 16 June 2020: click here for the English version or click here for the French version