Experian 2016 Annual Report Download - page 61

Board effectiveness
and changes
To ensure that the Board is being
effective in its responsibilities, with the
Chief Executive Officer, Brian Cassin,
and the Company Secretary, Charles
Brown, I ensure that the agenda for each
Board meeting includes an appropriate
mix of standing items and subjects
that may, in the context of events or
challenges, be directly relevant at the
time. This process, together with visits
to the business and presentations on
topical issues, means that the Board is
focused on the right areas.
The UK Corporate Governance Code
recommends an annual Board
effectiveness evaluation, and this
provides the Board with a regular
opportunity to critically self-evaluate.
This year’s evaluation was facilitated
internally, and was the third year of our
three-year evaluation cycle. It involved
a series of questions to directors
using an online tool. The questions
covered a number of areas, including
Board composition and expertise,
Board dynamics, strategic oversight,
competition, risk management and
internal control, remuneration and
technical development needs. I was able
to use the output from the evaluation
when I spoke to each Board member, to
evaluate his or her own performance in
February and March. The Board and the
Nomination and Corporate Governance
Committee also reviewed the results and
considered areas of focus in March 2016.
You will read later about the focus areas
that the Board has agreed for itself.
During the year, Luiz Fleury joined
the Board, and his insight, extensive
experience in the Brazilian financial
market and deep local knowledge are
valuable attributes, given the importance
of Latin America to Experian. Alan Jebson
retired, Jan Babiak resigned and Fabiola
Arredondo stepped down, as directors
of the Company during the year; and
Judith Sprieser intends to step down with
effect from the conclusion of the Annual
General Meeting in July 2016. Whilst we
do not publish specific diversity targets,
as a Board we recognise the significant
benefits of a diverse Board and, when
recruiting, will seek to address diversity
gaps on our Board.
Conclusion
As Chairman, one of my key roles is to
ensure that the Board and Experian
continue to have high standards of
corporate governance whilst, at the same
time, we establish and continually develop
the right controls to provide the Board
with the appropriate level of oversight and
assurance. The following report provides
more information on how this is achieved
and outlines our governance approach.
You will also find on the following pages
an overview of the Company’s compliance
with the UK Corporate Governance
Code, which should be read alongside
the Corporate governance report. I hope
that you will find the overview and report
helpful in understanding the Experian
governance framework.
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59Governance •Chairman’s introduction