Events

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/bl.30074
• Published date: 01 May 2017
• Date: 01 May 2017

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Toward a requisiTe Board

CompeTenCies maTrix

—parT Two ........................... 3

GovernanCe in The makinG—

a view from aCademe ............. 6

NUMBER 151, MAY–JUNE 2017

www.boardleadershipnewsletter.com

(continued on page 2)

The Quest for Alignment

Caroline Oliver Interviews Jean-Claude Pierre, Group CEO, Scott Bader

Jean-Claude Pierre became Group CEO of Scott Bader, a global chemical company,

in June 2015. He holds a master’s degree in Polymer Science from ITECH Lyon and

an MBA from Hult. However, more relevant to this interview, he also holds a PhD in

Organizational Systems from Saybrook University. Here, he talks with Board Leadership

Editor Caroline Oliver about his passion for exploring new perspectives on governance.

BOARD LEADERSHIP

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO GOVERNANCE

View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com

Board Leadership • DOI: 10.1002/bl • May-June 2017

Caroline: Tell me about the roots

of Scott Bader and its particular

approach to governance.

Jean-Claude: Scott Bader is a global

chemical company employing over 650

people worldwide with manufactur-

ing sites in Europe, the Middle East,

South Africa, Canada, India, and South

America with revenues of EUR 227 mil-

lion. Our founder, Ernest Bader, and his

family were Quakers who believed in

the necessity of taking ethical and moral

action to improve the world and looked

for a less divisive way to use the capital

of the company. They believed that

labor should employ a company’s capital

and have a “real” say in all its affairs.

They wanted to acknowledge the equal-

ity of everyone as individuals and saw

that restructuring the way industry was

managed was the only thing that could

bring this about.

Caroline: I know that there are many

examples of organizations that are seek-

ing to enable employees to have more

control over how their work is managed,

but it has always worried me that such

initiatives are unsustainable unless they

start at the governance level.

Jean-Claude: That’s true and one

of the main things that attracted me to

Scott Bader is that the organization is

truly aligned at all levels.

Caroline: How does it work at the

governance level?

Jean-Claude: In 1951 the decision was

taken to transfer all the shares of the com-

pany to a newly created charitable trust—

Scott Bader Commonwealth Limited.

This body, which for simplicity I will call

the Commonwealth, is a company limited

by guarantee and a registered charity.

The Commonwealth is founded on prin-

ciples that reflect the belief that a socially

responsible undertaking cannot exist

merely in its own interests. It is part of the

whole national and international commu-

nity, and as such it has responsibilities that

extend far beyond its factory walls. The

ambition was “to provide opportunity for

the full development of us all, both mate-

rially and spiritually: Mutual responsibility

must permeate the whole community of

work and be upheld by democratic par-

ticipation and the principle of trusteeship”

(Foreword from the revised Scott Bader

Constitution, March 1963).

All Scott Bader employees can

become Members of The Commonwealth

June 22–24, 2017

International Policy

Governance® Association

(IPGA) Annual Conference

— San Diego, California, USA

A variety of opportunities

for learning and networking

for board members, CEOs, and

board administrators using the

Policy Governance system to

determine and fulfill their orga-

nizations’ purpose, as well as for

International Young Governance

Professionals and others explor-

ing good governance. Early bird

discounts available.

For more information go to

www.policygovernanceassociation

.org.

oCToBer 19–20, 2017

BoardSource Leadership

Forum

— Seattle, Washington, USA

Plenary sessions, workshops,

discussions, presentations, and

networking for nonprofit board

members, chief executives, staff,

and nonprofit professionals to

learn how to guide their organi-

zations toward greater impact

and mission

For more information go to

www.boardsource.org.

EVENTS