PR: New member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Corporate Governance Council
Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations promotes good and responsible corporate governance Ms. Rania Ekaterinari is the new member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Corporate Governance Council
Ms. Rania Ekaterinari, CEO of the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations S.A. (“HCAP”), will be the fifth member of the new Board of Directors of the Hellenic Corporate Governance Council (“HCGC”).
HCGC is a joint initiative of Athens Stock Exchange and the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV). Its mission is to improve corporate governance, aiming to enhance the credibility and competitiveness of Greek businesses and which will positively influence the attractiveness of the Greek market for investments.
In this context, Ms. Ekaterinari participated as a speaker at the meeting of the General Council of SEV on November 19th, 2018, discussing the topic of “Corporate Sector and Regulatory Authorities’ initiatives for the improvement of corporate governance and reputation”.
After thanking the Committee of HCGC for her appointment as member of its Board of Directors, Ms. Rania Ekaterinari noted that:
“Nowadays, the promotion and understanding of the requirement for good and responsible corporate governance can make a decisive contribution to enhancing the credibility of Greek companies, both in public and private sector, and thus the Greek economy itself. To this end, HCGC has taken important initiatives, and today, such effort is more critical than ever in order to be successful and to be embraced by both the private and the wider public sector. HCAP’s support of such initiatives is self-evident, as is the ongoing dialogue and cooperation with all key stakeholders.”
The establishment of rules and best practices of corporate governance at the SOE level is a central pillar of HCAP’s mission. Thus, the creation and promotion of a unified and modern corporate culture is required, based on strong principles and values, such as those of public interest, transparency, consultation, social accountability, as well as responsible management.
HCAP has already completed several actions in this regard, as well as launching several others, including:
● Completion of the amendment of the Articles of Association of the SOEs in order to comply with c.l. 2190/1920.
● Ongoing assessment of the Boards of Directors, aiming to improve Board functioning, with the participation of executives with appropriate knowledge and experience. In this context,
i) HCAP has already completed the assessment and appointment of new Boards of Directors to its direct subsidiaries, ETAD and HRADF.
ii) HCAP has established the Candidates Committee for the assessment of the Board of Directors of the SOEs included in its portfolio, having already completed the appointment of the new Board of Directors in the Hellenic Post S.A. (ELTA), while the evaluation and fulfillment of vacant positions of Board of Directors of other companies is in progress.
● Upgrading the role of internal audit function with credible auditing and risk management procedures and ensuring the independence of the Audit Committee. Regarding the latter, HCAP has issued a call for expression of interest for the selection of the Heads of the Audit Committees of the Board of Directors of the SOEs; it is now at an advanced stage and close to completion.
At the same time,
● The development of a toolbox and the design of handbooks on corporate governance best practices has been launched.
● HCAP has designed and is in the course of implementing training and support programs for its subsidiaries on Compliance issues, tailored to the needs of each business.
HCAP places particular emphasis on the commitment of the Boards and senior management of the state owned enterprises, which must be thought leaders, defining values and acting as role models.
Also, the successful implementation of best governance rules requires the adoption of KPIs and monitoring performance of such KPIs, through adequate public reporting by said companies’ management.
