What are some of your main tips for dealing with a crisis?

Most publicly listed companies will face and deal with some form of crisis during business operations. It could come in the form of inadequate media coverage — including comments on social media, public reprimand by regulators, fines imposed for various corporate wrongdoings, or some unexpected disaster. How a company deals with such a crisis will depend on their level of preparedness to manage the situation.

The management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., in its 2019 publication titled ‘Building board-management dynamics to withstand a crisis: Addressing the fault lines’ — highlights the prevalence of corporate crises, which come at a high cost to publicly listed companies. According to this article, effective board-senior management dynamics and interaction can positively contribute to crisis preparedness. Meanwhile, some critical fault lines can result in board and senior management cracking and failing under pressure. Some examples of critical fault line which the company need to consider during a crisis are over-reliance by the board on the CEO and senior management team; micromanagement by the board; problematic dynamics between the board and the senior management team; and poor coordination and flow of information between the board and senior management.

All publicly listed companies should have a strong communication and investor relations team versed in handling public relations crises. This team can consist of various departments. They should develop a pre and post-crisis preparation checklist and steps on how best to proceed.

In summary, practical, proactive, quick crisis handling can minimise a company’s corporate reputation and image.

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in Malaysia over the next five-ten years?

Company secretaries must be prepared for the regulatory frameworks, increasing complexities of publicly listed companies, and technological advancement, which will impact their roles by 2030.

Shortly, they will eventually become change-makers, serving as more than just trusted strategic governance advisors to the board and senior management and offering future-oriented business solutions to issues related to corporate governance. In line with this move and being a governance advisor, they are empowered to speak up whenever concerns exist regarding corporate governance.

During boardroom discussions and deliberation, they should intervene to help chart discussions on corporate governance and compliance matters. Being one of the critical persons in setting the board agenda and facilitating the boardroom discussion of issues raised at board meetings, the company secretary helps the chairman steer conversations in the right direction.

It is also essential that the company secretary be able to navigate the boardroom politics and the internal politics within an organisation, particularly the problematic dynamic and politics between the CEO and the board.

With greater expectations and responsibilities with businesses becoming more global, regulatory schemes are ever more complex and often divergent. The pillars of business units within a company are becoming more intertwined – the role of the company secretary will evolve from secretary to trusted advisor, and from minute taker to thought leader, from servant of the board to governance advisor, guiding the board, from collating and supplying information to becoming analyser and advisor on that data and pointing to where to find more, stimulating broader thinking by proactively raising the right questions.