ECGI - AGM 2004

ECGI Interim Report 2004

December 2004

INTRODUCTION

At this stage of the year, it is customary for me to review the progress that the Institution has made since I last reported to you all at our General Assembly in March. I am very pleased to tell you that the ECGI has been very active on a number of fronts and we continue to plan an exciting forward agenda.

OUR SECOND ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Our third year of existence could not have got off to a better start, judging by the number of members who supported our General Assembly in London at the London Business School. I was particularly pleased to hear such positive feedback and constructive suggestions from those present. I think I can say that the consensus of the meeting, using the words of one member, was “that the quality of what the ECGI does is just outstanding” and “that the forward agenda is exceptionally thoughtful”.

The subsequent lecture by Colin Mayer and Julian Franks was not only up to their usual high standard but also gained the ECGI many new friends, being open to and attended by a large gathering of LBS MBA students.

TRANSATLANTIC CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DIALOGUE

The highlight of the last six months has undoubtedly been the inauguration of the Transatlantic Corporate Governance Dialogue. This is a major new ECGI initiative and, we hope, the first event of a long series. The TCGD is a forum for debate and for the exchange of experiences across the Atlantic. We believe it will make a significant contribution towards better corporate governance on both sides of the Atlantic.    

As you are aware, the European Commission has been involved over the last few years in a major effort to develop and improve financial markets in Europe through an Action Plan that is now nearly concluded. Corporate governance is a crucial component in that effort and, in discussion with the Commission, we sought ways of making a contribution. We arrived at a proposition for a forum for dialogue across the Atlantic where we Europeans could present our views and debate them with our fellow Americans. We found an ideal partner, the American Law Institute (ALI) to help us. We devised a topical and informative programme for the launch and it was no surprise that there was literally only standing room left at the Maison de l’Europe.

The morning session looked at the European experience and its implications for the United States. The expert European panel consisted of Eddy Wymeersch, University of Ghent; Gerard Hertig, Swiss Institute of Technology; Colin Mayer, Saïd Business School and David Wright, European Commission, Internal Market and Financial Services DG. This was moderated by Klaus J. Hopt of the Max Planck Institute for Foreign Private and Private International Law.    

The afternoon session considered the implications on Europe of the US experience, particularly following the federal Sarbanes-Oxley statute. This session was moderated by Lance Liebman of the American Law Institute, our partner in the TCGD. His panel of experts comprised Ronald Gilson, Columbia University; Melvin Eisenberg, University of California, Berkeley; Mark Roe, Harvard Law School and John Coffee, Columbia Law School.

Alexander Schaub, Director General, European Commission, DG Internal Market had supported the TCGD from the outset and we were delighted when he agreed to be a keynote speaker. Mario Draghi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Goldman Sachs International and Harvey Goldschmid, Commissioner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the other distinguished keynote speakers, offered further insight and comment.

It was an excellent day when a great deal of knowledge and experience was communicated and shared. There was a good debate and we could not have hoped for a better launch of this initiative. We are now planning a further event in the US next year to continue the dialogue ‘away from home’.

TRAINING NETWORK    

At our General Assembly, I touched on the protracted bidding process that led to our success in gaining EU funding for a training network which aims to reduce the European corporate governance research and training gap. This ambitious four-year programme has recently started with active recruitment of applicants for Early Stage Researcher Fellowships. Details of the inaugural Network Conference which takes place on 28-29 January 2005 in Oxford, hosted by the Saïd Business School, can be found on a website devoted to the ECGTN (http://www.ecgtn.org/).    

ECGI CLINICAL PAPER COMPETITION    

The entry date for the submission of papers to the ECGI Clinical Paper Competition has now passed and I am pleased to say that we have had a high quality response. We launched this competition earlier in the year with the aim of encouraging the writing and publication of empirical research papers on corporate governance cases in Europe. Six papers were selected and went to the jury. The winners were announced in Stockholm on 9 December in a ceremony to coincide with Nobel Prize week with the first prize going to Colin Mayer, Julian Franks and Stefano Rossi for their paper ‘Ownership: Evolution and Regulation’. Details of all the prize winners can be found by clicking this link.

EXPANDING OUR MEMBERSHIP 

At our last General Assembly, we sought and obtained approval of the members to introduce a new category of membership, the Research Member - an automatic membership for current and future ECGI Fellows and Research Associates during the term of their research fellowship. At the time, some 58 new Research Members were created. They have been augmented by a further 23 Research Associates who were nominated in June.
Our other categories of membership continue to expand too. Since the General Assembly, there have been 7 new Institutional Members, 31 new Ordinary Members and 27 new Academic Members.

I would like to thank all of you whether individually or on behalf of a corporate entity, for supporting us through your membership of the Institute. Again I would ask you to encourage your colleagues and business acquaintances to join you as members.

HIGHLIGHTING RESEARCH THROUGH OUR WEBSITE    

Research is at the heart of what the ECGI stands for. For this reason, we have introduced a new ‘portal’ on the ECGI website with links to every aspect of our research output, debates and resources. Every two months, we highlight the work of a different Research Member, thereby bringing to the attention of a wider audience perhaps the important work they are doing in this field. It is a wider world if the statistics for our website’s usage are to be believed. We now attract over 20,000 visitors a month and regularly feature as one of the leading corporate governance websites in search engine listings. Such figures may not seem important under normal circumstances. ECGI, however, is a virtual organisation where the internet plays a key role in establishing our reputation and delivering benefits to members.

For those who do not access our website on a regular basis we have recently introduced a short factual online News Update. We intend to send this out regularly to keep you abreast of our activities.

LOOKING AHEAD    

Looking ahead, I would ask you to make a note for your diaries about the next General Assembly. This will take place on Wednesday, 9th March 2005 at SDA Bocconi, Milan. We are grateful to Dr Andrea Gasparri for agreeing to host this and the annual lecture which follows it.
My next report to you will be made at that meeting. In the meantime, I trust that the ECGI will continue to have your support as it seeks to achieve our shared aims.

On behalf of the ECGI Board, season’s greetings to you all and very best wishes for the New Year.

Antonio Borges, Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs International, Chairman ECGI
December 2004