The CBI’s external governance review

Good governance is vital to ensuring that members have confidence in CBI decision-making, leadership and the checks and balances that we have in place. As part of the Prospectus for a renewed CBI, launched at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in June 2023, we committed to an external review of the CBI’s governance structures and processes to ensure we were doing everything we could to keep or restore member confidence in our governance. 

We are pleased to share the results of this comprehensive review as we set about implementing the findings into a renewed, refreshed CBI. With thanks to Ffion Hague and Independent Board Evaluation for conducting this important piece of work, we will now be taking the findings forward in full. 

The review process 

The review, conducted in 2023, involved assessing the CBI's governance structure, transparency, and accountability. The review aimed to provide recommendations for improved governance practices, based on insights and information from participants. It included interviews with board members, senior management, former board members, committee chairs, advisers, and CBI members. The review also considered CBI Board meetings and papers. 

The conclusions and recommendations were discussed with the CBI's President, CEO, and the Board in August 2023. The Board then received a further update in October with a detailed action plan around each of the recommendations. In December 2023 the CBI published this review and its findings in the interest of transparency. 

The report’s findings 

The report focused on examining and providing several recommendations under three broad categories. These are:  

1. Governance structures and process: Looks at the overall composition of the CBI’s governance bodies, and the underlying processes that run them.
2. Connecting the Board with the business: Examines the link between the Board and the wider CBI, how the Board connects to employees, and how it reports back to the membership.
3. Board composition: Scrutinises the Board’s makeup, its recruitment processes and the range of skills on the Board. 

Changes to the CBI's corporate governance  

• Changes to the CBI Board: Two Board members left in 2023. Victoria Cochrane joined the CBI Board as a Senior Independent Director and Chair of the newly refreshed Audit and Risk Committee.
• Changes to CBI Executive Committee: Louise Hellem has now been confirmed in post on the Executive Committee as Chief Economist. John Foster has now been confirmed as the CBI’s Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer. A new Chief People Officer role was created on the Executive Committee as well as a Chief Strategy Officer role.  
• Reform of Audit and Risk Committee: The Audit Committee has been refreshed with a greater focus on risk. Victoria Cochrane has been appointed as the new Audit and Risk Committee Chair. 
• New Nominations Committee: A sub-committee of the CBI Board has been set up to own succession planning and recruitment of future Non-Executive Directors and future Presidents of the CBI.  
• New People and Culture Committee: A new sub-committee of the CBI Board has been set up to own people and culture issues along with the Chief People Officer.  
• Creation of the Chief People Officer role: Elizabeth Wallace was confirmed in post as the interim CBI Chief People Officer. This role sits on the Executive Committee. 
• Greater reporting from the Chief People Officer to the Board: The CPO reports directly to the CBI Board at each meeting on people and culture issues and metrics.  
• Review of the CBI Council and Committee structure: A full review of the CBI Councils and Committees is underway to ensure its mandate setting process is fit for purpose. This was discussed with the CBI Chairs’ Committee in June 2023.  

Next steps 

By embracing the findings and recommendations of this review, the CBI is committed to evolving and improving our governance structures and processes. The CBI governance team, working closely with the CBI President, members of the CBI Board and in consultation with our members, will implement the recommendations of the Review over the next year – some are simpler process changes which have been implemented immediately, others will take more time to ensure we get it right.  

How to get involved 

• Join us at the AGM: CBI Members can register to attend the CBI’s Annual General Meeting, 6 December 2023. 
• Apply for the CBI Board: If you have relevant experience, apply to join the CBI Board as a Non-Executive Director. 
• Follow our progress: Read the latest updates on the CBI’s progress in our scorecard for change.
• Read the full review findings: Download the full external Governance Review report here.