The new president of the Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria (CIoD), Tijjani Borodo, has said that his tenure would be driven by new initiatives that would further drive the full actualisation of the strategic plan of the institute.

Citing initiatives of inclusiveness; impactful branch growth and expansion, full implementation of the CIoD Nigeria’s chartership status, development of the CIoD towers and the completion of the digitalisation of the institute with full application of data analytics in operations and research, Borodo said the plans are targeted at driving the future-readiness of the institute.

He revealed this during his investiture as the president of the institute recently, where he pledged to continue on the initiatives of its immediate past president, Dr Ije Jidenma, stating that they would-be fully accomplished during his tenure.

Stating that his strategic agenda would continue to promote excellence in corporate governance, as well as advocate for policies and practices that would foster growth and innovation, the IoD chief said his agenda would be built on a three-point agenda – “Review, Reform and Reinvigoration of CIoD Nigeria’s membership and branch development.”

According to him, this is necessary given the emerging dynamics of the institute’s membership status and the current changes in the digital operations deployed for managing members and operations of the institute.

Other key areas that would attract attention over the next two years, he said, is the drive for partnerships with reputable professional bodies and educational institutions.

“This trend aligns with the blue ocean strategy being globally adopted for business growth in the world today as opposed to the red ocean strategy that yields little or nothing. I anticipate that the increased drive for partnerships will facilitate the phenomenal growth of the CIoD Academy, which with the institute’s chartership status will become a full-blown capacity development arm of CIoD Nigeria, positioned to conduct certificate, diploma and structured assessments programmes for directors’ development and their chartership,” he said.

In his keynote address, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Oscar Onyema, said the institute has continued to promote corporate governance practices and standards through the continuing development of policy notes, position papers and guidelines.

He said it has also developed directors’ skills through development programmes, platforms for peer interaction and exchange of learnings and ideas through networking events, as well as advisory services and facilitation of board appraisals.

One of the challenges Onyema mentioned that boards have faced in the recent past was how to achieve diversity in the boardroom.

According to him, demand for diverse boards, C-suites, and workforce has never been stronger.

He said there is widespread agreement that diversity within these groups better reflects — and better serves — a diverse global society and accordingly improves leadership, governance, and ultimately, financial performance and reputational strength of companies.