Gillian has been Director of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission’s Fiduciary Supervision Policy and Innovations Division since 2014 and joined the NED Development Programme in 2016. In 2017 she partnered with the board of Guernsey Electricity as part of the programme.
The Need
In Gillian’s own words: ‘In my day job, I spend a lot of time looking at the corporate governance of our licensees and how their boards operate. I felt joining the programme would therefore give me invaluable insight into the challenges boards and non-executive directors can face as I would have practical experience and a better understanding.’
The Solution
Mrs Browning said the board at Guernsey Electricity had embraced the opportunity as much as she had and she had learnt from the experience: ‘They have been very welcoming and made it clear they didn’t want someone to sit and not make a contribution so while I have not been a voting member, I have still been very active. It’s been great to have the chance to observe the individual roles more closely and understand how issues and opportunities evolved, were discussed and then progressed,’ she said.
The Impact
Gillian concluded: ‘It has given me more insight into the challenges boards face and reinforced what good corporate governance should look like. It’s also been interesting to see the commonalities between boards even in different sectors such as interaction with shareholders and with other jurisdictions. It has taken up much of my own personal time but it has been a valuable and rewarding experience and I’d definitely recommend it.’ Find out more about the NED Development Programme.
Contact: Tina Torode on [email protected] or call 01481 224570