The International Company Directors Course in Hong Kong

Three times a year, Hong Kong plays host to the AICD’s International Company Directors Course: a five-day program focusing on global governance principles. 25 directors, aspiring directors and senior executives attend the program and learn practical skills and knowledge needed to excel as an international director.

The International Company Directors Course is an important and popular fixture of the AICD’s education curriculum, with more than 1,500 aspiring and experienced directors and senior executives having completed the course over the past decade. The course is truly global in nature, helping directors understand their duties and responsibilities when working across countries, cultures and regulatory frameworks.

Course facilitators have extensive real-world director experience and create an interactive and unique learning environment. The cohort engages in group discussions, explores real-life case studies and experiences a simulated board meeting. Participants have the opportunity to network throughout the week with their international peers and are encouraged to share their own experiences with the group.

Leonie Valentine MAICD, Managing Director Sales and Operations of Google Hong Kong says that these insights from the group were particularly valuable for her. “Being able to talk to somebody in an open, small-group format [allows you to] learn from your cohorts in the room.”

Participants come from all over the globe and operate in various sectors and industries. “There’s an interesting lesson in leadership when you start to network with people,” Valentine says. “You have people with big titles from big brands, then you’ve got the less obvious, more humble leaders who are managing intense, complex things and facing amazing challenges in their businesses.”

Each day of the program explores a different area of director duties, applying the theory to the practical experience in the room. The international legal environment, risk and strategy, financial literacy and board effectiveness are all closely examined, with content that can be applied both inside and outside the boardroom. Each area also features a different facilitator, providing a breadth of experience.

Daryn Dailey GAICD, Chief Operating Officer for The Fred Hollows Foundation says that the international focus attracted him to the International Company Directors Course. “In an increasingly globalised world the extra dimension of international focus has proved invaluable.”

Daryn also spoke on the suite of learning the course has brought him. “After completing the course I approach my board interactions with a very different mindset, putting myself in the shoes of our directors and considering what information I would need to make sensible strategic and guidance decisions.”

On completion of the course, participants can undertake an assessment that on passing, allows them to use the prestigious post-nominal GAICD. Joining as a member of the AICD also allows international members to become part of a global community of more than 42,000 directors and senior leaders across 75 countries.