Center for Corporate Governance (CCG)

Center for Corporate Governance (CCG)

President: Jordi Canals

Companies are facing unprecedented disruptions and challenges (i.e. technological, geopolitical or environmental). The boards of director’s mission to govern effectively is more relevant than ever to develop trustworthy, sustainable and resilient companies that have a lasting positive impact on society.

Created in 2018, the IESE Center for Corporate Governance is engaged in impactful research, educational programs, academic conferences and dialogue forums between academics, practitioners, investors, board members and regulators to exchange experiences and knowledge. It aims to contribute to improve governance models and practices grounded on evidence-based research which have a deep impact on how companies build and implement sustainable value creation strategies for the long term.

The mission of the Center for Corporate Governance is to generate impactful ideas on corporate governance grounded on evidence-based research and help bridge the gap between theory and practice in the field of corporate governance. We aim to improve not only the quality, but also the basic assumptions on corporate governance: the firm’s foundation on purpose and values; the professional quality of management; and the long-term value creation for all stakeholders involved.

SHAREHOLDERS IN A DISRUPTED WORLD: WHAT ROLE SHOULD THEY PLAY?

At the 2025 IESE – ECGI Corporate Governance Conference, academics and executives came together to explore how shareholders can support companies in times of profound disruption. Read more here.

A FRAMEWORK FOR POSITIVE BOARD – CEO COLLABORATION

In our latest newsletter, Professor Jordi Canals shares his insights on several key factors that can enhance collaboration between the board and the CEO. Read more here.

2024 IESE SURVEY OF BOARDS OF DIRECTORS

Read the post written by Yuki Sakasay, Gaizka Ormazabal and Jordi Canals on the latest edition of the IESE Survey on Boards of Directors recently published in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance here.

  • Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: What Should Directors Know? In our November newsletter, Professor Gaizka Ormazabal shares his thoughts on some of the main issues that directors need to be aware of in order to implement the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Read more here.
  • 2024 IESE – ECGI Corporate Governance Conference The 2024 IESE – ECGI Corporate Governance Conference, Towards a New Model of Boards of Directors, took place on April 15, 2024 at IESE’s Madrid campus. Know more about the event here.
  • What Should Boards Prioritize in 2024? The latest edition of the IESE Survey on Boards of Directors addresses four key challenges for boards: implementation of corporate purpose and culture; board competencies and dynamics; CEO leadership development and succession planning; and business strategy and the impact of geopolitics. Read the full study here.
  • Board of Directors and Artificial Intelligence. Boards of directors should seek to understand and govern artificial intelligence since it has the potential to change many companies’ competitive positioning while providing opportunities to accelerate productivity and efficiency. Some reflections on this topic can be found in the November newsletter of the Center. Read here.
  • Executive Compensation Tied to ESG Performance: International evidence. A new global study conducted by IESE’s Gaizka Ormazabal and Igor Kadach, together with Shira Cohen of San Diego State University and the University of Mannheim’s Stefan Reichelstein, looks at the prevalence of ESG-linked pay for executives, and where and which companies are adopting the practice. The research examines the role of institutional investors in encouraging ESG pay, as well as its impact on firm performance. Read more here.

  • Common Ownership, Competition and Top Management Incentives. A growing body of empirical evidence ties common ownership to reduced competition, and research recently published in the Journal of Political Economy by IESE’s Miguel Antón and Mireia Giné, with Florian Ederer of Boston University and Martin Schmalz of the University of Oxford, connects the dots between CEO compensation, increased common ownership of public companies, and incentives that discourage aggressive competition. Read more here.

  • Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times: Improving Corporate Governance Effectiveness. A recent article by professor Jordi Canals, posted on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, discusses the need of a new governance model guided by purpose where shareholders, boards of directors and senior managers are fully aligned to develop companies for the long term. This post is based on his book Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times (Cambridge University Press, 2023), which has recently received the Joan Sardà Dexeus 2023 Award in the category of best book on Economics and Business. Read the full article here.

  • Modern Capitalism and Corporate Purpose. Professors Jordi Canals and Gaizka Ormazabal participated in the conference “Perspectives on Corporate Purpose” organized by the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) that took place in Copenhagen last September 21, 2023. The conference was part of the Corporate Purpose pillar of ECGI’s Responsible Capitalism Initiative and consisted of 5 sessions where academics and practitioners examined the opportunities and challenges presented by corporate purpose and the evidence of its contribution to business success, investor performance and wider societal and environmental interests. Watch the sessions of the event here.
  • The Future of China and US Rivalry and Its Impact on Companies. Former Singaporean Minister George Yeo, with Professor Jordi Canals, offered a session on “The future of China and US rivalry and its impact on companies“, which was part of the IESE Alumni Learning Program.In the session, that took place in Barcelona last October 19, 2023, Mr. George Yeo gave some useful insights to better understand China, the growing geopolitical conflict with the U.S. and its effects on the global business landscape.
  • Revisiting the Anticompetitive Effects of Common Ownership. Professors Xavier Vives and José Azar have been awarded the 2023 Intesa Sanpaolo Finance Prize for their paper “Revisiting the Anticompetitive Effects of Common Ownership”.
  • Climate Finance. IESE Professor Nuno Fernandes has recently published CLIMATE FINANCE, a book where he offers a useful guide to address climate-related financial issues, risks and opportunities and disentangles the complex layers of decision-making around it.
  • 2022 IESE Survey on Boards of Directors. This survey aims at understanding how board directors analyze and work on four relevant themes for the quality of corporate governance and the effectiveness of boards of directors: corporate purpose, culture, strategy and board engagement.
  • Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times. It’s high time to do better, asserts IESE Professor Jordi Canals in his 2022 book, Boards of Directors in Disruptive Times: Improving Corporate Governance Effectiveness. In 10 chapters, Canals offers a detailed analysis explaining why the prevailing model of corporate boards is falling short in our current era of accelerated change and radical transformation.

Boards of directors

  • Improving boards of directors’ effectiveness
  • Boards of directors and corporate strategy
  • Boards of directors and corporate culture
  • Governance and executive compensation
  • CEO succession

Shareholders

  • Influence of institutional investors
  • Institutional investors and stewardship
  • Governance of listed firms, family-owned business and foundations
  • Shareholder activism

Purpose in corporate governance

  • Corporate purpose  in governance
  • Corporate purpose and business performance
  • Corporate purpose and culture
  • Corporate purpose and ESG

Governing ESG & Sustainability

  • Sustainability impact
  • ESG measurement, accountability and disclosure
  • Sustainable finance
  • Impact investment

IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference Series

The IESE Center for Corporate Governance and the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) bring senior academics and thought-leaders in business to discuss relevant corporate governance topics through conferences.

Shareholders’ Role and Responsibilities in Times of Corporate Disruptions

2025

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Towards a New Model of Boards of Directors

2024

Watch here

Corporate Governance, Corporate Culture and the Board’s Culture

2022

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Boards of Directors and Corporate Strategy in an Uncertain Context

2021

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Can Purpose Deliver Better Corporate Governance?

2020

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Corporate Governance and Ownership with Diverse Shareholders

2019

Watch here

Corporate Governance Insights

APRIL 2025 NEWSLETTER

Shareholders and Corporate Governance

FEBRUARY 2025 NEWSLETTER

Navigating Uncertainty and Conflict: Learnings from Effective Venture Boards

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Leadership Team

Jordi Canals

Jordi Canals

President
Gaizka Ormazabal

Gaizka Ormazabal

Academic Director
Núria Molet

Núria Molet

Manager

Faculty Team

John Almandoz

John Almandoz

Professor, Managing People in Organizations
Miguel Antón

Miguel Antón

Professor, Financial Management
África Ariño

África Ariño

Professor, Strategic Management
José Azar

José Azar

Visiting Professor, Economics
Pascual Berrone

Pascual Berrone

Professor, Strategic Management
Pietro Bonetti

Pietro Bonetti

Associate Professor, Accounting and Control
Adrián Caldart

Adrián Caldart

Associate Professor, Strategic Management
Jordi Canals

Jordi Canals

Professor, Strategic Management
Miguel Duro

Miguel Duro

Professor, Accounting and Control
Marta Elvira

Marta Elvira

Professor, Strategic Management and Managing People in Organizations
Christian Eufinger

Christian Eufinger

Professor, Financial Management
Nuno Fernandes

Nuno Fernandes

Professor, Financial Management
Fabrizio Ferraro

Fabrizio Ferraro

Professor, Strategic Management
Mireia Giné

Mireia Giné

Professor, Financial Management
Igor Kadach

Igor Kadach

Associate Professor, Accounting and Control
Núria Mas

Núria Mas

Professor, Economics
Gaizka Ormazabal

Gaizka Ormazabal

Professor, Accounting and Control
Fernando Peñalva

Fernando Peñalva

Professor, Accounting and Control
Joan Enric Ricart

Joan Enric Ricart

Professor, Strategic Management
Juan Roure

Juan Roure

Emeritus Professor, Entrepreneurship and Negotiation Teaching Unit
Josep Tàpies

Josep Tàpies

Emeritus Professor, Strategic Management
Carles Vergara

Carles Vergara

Professor, Financial Management
Xavier Vives

Xavier Vives

Professor, Economics and Financial Management

Videos.

CEOs Panel: The Future of Boards of Directors

CEOs Panel: The Future of Boards of Directors

Watch on YouTube
Boards and CEOs Hiring, Development and Firing

Boards and CEOs Hiring, Development and Firing

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The Board of Directors: Its Role in Corporate Culture. A CEO Roundtable

The Board of Directors: Its Role in Corporate Culture. A CEO Roundtable

Watch on YouTube
Executive Compensation: Evidence from the Field and Implications for Corporate Culture

Executive Compensation: Evidence from the Field and Implications for Corporate Culture

Watch on Youtube
Boards, Activist Investors and Strategic Decision-Making

Boards, Activist Investors and Strategic Decision-Making

Watch on YouTube
Corporate Purpose, Ownership and Performance

Corporate Purpose, Ownership and Performance

Watch on Youtube

Towards a New Model of Boards of Directors

The 2024 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference focused on the theme: “Towards a New Model of Boards of Directors”. The different speakers helped analize and debate how boards of directors can navigate challenges like climate change and sustainability, strategy and digital transformation, and CEO succession planning. Leading scholars from various fields, along with CEOs and chairpersons, offered insights on improving governance in today’s disruptive environment.

 

Corporate Governance, Corporate Culture and the Board’s Culture

The 2022 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference discussed the role of corporate culture in corporate governance from the specific perspective of the board of directors as the top decision-maker in an organization with a cross-disciplinary approach.

 

Boards of Directors and Corporate Strategy in an Uncertain Context

The 2021 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference discussed the role of boards of directors when dealing with corporate strategy in a context where the level of uncertainties that companies face is increasing.

 

Can Purpose Deliver Better Corporate Governance?

Corporate purpose has galvanized a global movement that promises to restore trust in companies, to produce goods and services without doing harm, while providing a fair return to employees and shareholders. The 2020 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference discussed the connection between corporate purpose and governance.

 

Corporate Governance and Ownership with Diverse Shareholders

The 2019 IESE-ECGI Corporate Governance Conference offered a context to reflect upon and better understand how the different nature of shareholders have an impact on the way companies are governed and managed, and, eventually, on some key decisions that define corporate governance –like board composition, board dynamics, CEO hiring and firing, strategy making and incentives design.

 

The importance of corporate governance

IESE professor Jordi Canals explains why corporate governance matters and how to create a good corporate governance system that prevents self-interest-seeking behavior by the top management of a company.

 

What are the seismic shifts affecting corporate governance?

Harvard Business School’s Krishna Palepu spoke at IESE on the impact of scandal on business in recent years, shifts towards compliance, the role of boards in determining strategy, and how to deal with the delicate issue of stakeholder activism.

 

Accountable managers, responsible companies. Lessons from the crisis: emerging shareholder activism

Responsible investment has become a $32 billion reality, integrating social, environmental and governance issues in portfolio decisions. Meanwhile, the say-on-pay movement, rather than driving managers out, has become a vote of confidence in the CEO. In the wake of the crisis, emerging shareholder activism comes with benefits to investors and the broader society.

 

Boards and shareholders redrawing their boundaries

Board-shareholder dynamics have been evolving since the financial crisis. In this interview, Harvard Business School professor Jay Lorsch discusses a business environment still struggling to regain societal trust and the potential influence of new shareholder empowerment on board decisions.

Programs.

The Center collaborates with all IESE Executive Education Programs. The programs related to corporate governance currently available are:

Value Creation Through Effective Boards
Mujeres en Consejos de Administración
Consejos de Administración Responsables

Publications

Journal Articles (refereed)

ANTÓN, M., EDERER, F., GINÉ, M., SCHMALZ, M. C. (2025). Innovation: The Bright side of common ownership? Management Science, 71 (5), 3641-4531. doi:10.1287/mnsc.2024.04363. FRIEDMAN, H., ORMAZABAL, G. (2024). The Role of information in building a more sustainable economy. A Supply and demand perspective. Journal of Accounting Research, 62 (5), 1575-1609. doi:10.1111/1475-679X.12581. BONETTI, P., ORMAZABAL, G. (2023). Boosting foreign investment. The Role of cerfitication of corporate governance. Journal of Accounting Research, 61 (1), 95-140. doi:10.1111/1475-679X.12468.

Working Papers

ROSANAS, J. M. (2023). Economism, Practical Wisdom and the Degradation of Moral Values with Management Techniques (WP-1312-E). Barcelona: IESE. CANALS, J. (2022). The Changing Nature and Functions of Boards of Directors (WP-1307-E). Barcelona: IESE. CANALS, J. (2022). From Financial Performance to ESG Results: How to Assess the Firm's Overall Impact (WP-1308-E). Barcelona: IESE.

Proceedings

ELLINGER, E. W., GREGORY, R. W. (2018). Owning Without Ownership: How Self-Managing Organizations Reshape Internal Corporate Governance. Academy of Management Proceedings. ALMANDOZ, J., TILCSIK, A. (2015). When Experts Become Liabilities: Bankers, Boards, and Bank Failures. Academy of Management Proceedings (pp. 1 - 2). WALLS, J., BERRONE, P. (2015). The Power of One: How CEO Power Affects Corporate Environmental Sustainability. Academy of Management Proceedings.

Books

CANALS, J. (2023). Boards of directors in disruptive times. Improving corporate governance effectiveness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CANALS, J. (2023). Transformarse para perdurar. Consejos de administración y gobierno de la empresa en épocas de cambios disruptivos. Barcelona: Deusto. NUENO, P. (2017). The 2020 Board: The Future of Company Boards.

Edited books

GALLO, M. Á. (2004). La sucesión en la empresa familiar. Barcelona: Estudios y Ediciones IESE. MELÉ, D. (1996). Ética en el gobierno de la empresa: V coloquio de ética empresarial y económica. Barañain: Eunsa.

Book Chapters

TÀPIES, J. (2019). Family-owned firms: The role of the board of directors, family council and family office. In Caldart, A., Ricart, J.E. and Carrera, A. (Eds), General Management in Latin and Ibero American Organizations: A Humanistic Perspective. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. CALDART, A., CARRERA, A., CORNEJO, M. (2019). The agenda of the chief executive officer. In Caldart, A., Ricart, J.E. and Carrera, A. (Eds), General Management in Latin and Ibero American Organizations: A Humanistic Perspective. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. DURO, M., ORMAZABAL, G. (2018). Does Regulating Banks' Corporate Governance Help? A Review of the Empirical Evidence. In Belén Díaz Díaz, Samuel O. Idowu, Philip Molyneux (Eds.), Corporate Governance in Banking and Investor Protection: From Theory to Practice (pp. 3 - 20). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Non-refereed articles

HEALY, P. M. (2024). Así puedes prevenir los delitos corporativos. IESE Business School Insight (167), pp. 76-83. HEALY, P. M. (2024). Deter corporate crime with a culture of integrity. IESE Business School Insight (167), pp. 76-83. GARTENBERG, C., IESE INSIGHT (2020). Un propósito claro impulsa los resultados. IESE Business School Insight (157), pp. 64-67.

Studies

ACHARYA, V. V., CARLETTI, E., RESTOY, F., VIVES, X. (2024). Banking turmoil and regulatory reform. SAKASAI, Y., ORMAZABAL, G., CANALS, J. (2024). How can boards improve their effectiveness? 2024 IESE survey on boards of directors. IESE. FONTRODONA, J., MARTÍNEZ, B. (2024). Benefit corporations y sociedades de beneficio e interés colectivo. Un movimiento en auge.. Cuaderno 59. IESE.

Cases

DE LA CIERVA, Y., HERNÁNDEZ, C. (2025). Stahl: a never-ending sustainable transformation - The E dimension. The E in the ESG strategy of a chemical company. IESE, DPO-896-E. DE LA CIERVA, Y., HERNÁNDEZ, C. (2025). Stahl: a never-ending sustainable transformation - The G dimension. The G in the ESG strategy of a chemical company. IESE, DPO-897-E. DE LA CIERVA, Y., HERNÁNDEZ, C. (2025). Stahl: a never-ending sustainable transformation - The S dimension. The S in the ESG strategy of a chemical company. IESE, DPO-898-E.

Technical Notes

CANALS, J. (2025). Estrategia de la empresa ante cambios geopolíticos disruptivos. IESE, SMN-716. CANALS, J. (2024). Can the board of directors be an effective team? IESE, SMN-709-E. GARCÍA PONT, C. (2023). Breve introducción a los deberes y las responsabilidades de los consejeros. IESE, MN-417.

Outputs in other media

CANALS, J. (2020). El propósito, motor del gobierno de la empresa. Expansión. ALMANDOZ, J. (2020). How Businesses Can Take On Global Issues Without Being Fake. Forbes. FONTRODONA, J. (2020). Retour au travail: le temps de l'incertitude. Les Echos.