The largest private airline in India went bankrupt, as did the bank that could not say no to its borrowers who defaulted on huge loans. Could these disasters have been foreseen, if not averted? Would it have helped if the directors on the board had spoken up before the corporate failure?
Inside the Boardroom explores the downfall of these companies and many more in the light of directors’ behaviour and its impact on corporate governance. R. Gopalakrishnan and Tulsi Jayakumar believe that corporate success goes beyond having significant knowledge of accounting rules and governance regulations. They boldly assert that directors’ behaviour in the boardroom is less rational than may be widely believed! Being human, directors’ decisions are naturally subjective and prone to behavioural bias, especially when confronted with manifestations of power, passion and authority in the boardroom, or even a secret desire to be accepted by others. Hence, successful directors and boards need to be deep observers of human behaviour and boardroom dynamics because behavioural and cultural nuances are significant aspects in most incidents of mismanagement leading to governance failure.
Lucidly described with a plethora of real events and insightful instances, Inside the Boardroom showcases the authors’ experience with governance and boardroom behaviour. It brings to light misbehaviours in the boardroom, early warning signs of failing governance in companies and some magical mantras for CEOs and independent directors to prevent failures.
5:15 PM Registration & High Tea
6:00 PM Welcome Address & Opening Remarks
Mr Lakshminarayanan Duraiswamy
Managing Director Sundaram Home Finance Ltd
Launch of the book: “Inside the Boardroom
- How Behaviour Trumps Rationality” and Address by the Chief Guest
Mr Vijay Sankar Chairman The Sanmar Group
Address by the Author
Mr R Gopalakrishnan
Author & Corporate Advisor
Former Executive Director, Tata Sons Ltd
Mr Vijay Sankar in conversation with the Author
Q & A Session
7:25 PM Vote of Thanks
Gp Capt R Vijayakumar (Retd), VSM
Executive Director, Madras Management Association
RGopalakrishnan
Mr. R. Gopalakrishnan (Gopal) completed his first career in Hindustan Unilever from 1967-1998; when he moved on, he was Vice Chairman of HUL. In his second career, he served as Director of Tata Sons from 1998-2015.
Since then, he has ‘refired’ into his third career as Author and Business Commentator. He has authored 18 books in English, and 4 translated books in Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, and Chinese. His books are more about life, as seen through the lens of business and enterprise, though many think of him as a ‘management writer.
Click to view brief profile
VijaySankar
Vijay Sankar (50) holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the J L Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Vijay Sankar is the Chairman of The Sanmar Group. The Sanmar Group has revenues of around USD 1.6 Billion..
As Chairman, he is responsible for the Group’s operational management. Apart from organic growth of the main businesses, Mr Sankar has been actively involved in Sanmar’s entry into overseas countries in the Group’s core areas of strengths. The Sanmar Group has manufacturing facilities in Mexico and Egypt, apart from its many manufacturing units in South India.
Mr Sankar is a Director on the Board of The KCP Limited, Oriental Hotels Limited, Kaveri Retreats & Resorts Ltd. and Transport Corporation of India Limited. He also serves as a Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, Trustee of The Childs Trust Hospital and the Voluntary Health Services (VHS). He serves on the Board of Governors of the Medical Research Foundation (Sankara Nethralaya) and CPR Environment Education Centre.
Vijay Sankar is the Honorary Consul General of Denmark in Chennai.
