UPDATE FROM THE NZISM CHAIR OF THE BOARD

Kia ora koutou katoa.

It's my great pleasure and privilege to address you as the first ever Chair of the Board of NZISM. The structural changes that we signalled last year have been worked through, consulted on and amended and were passed with unanimous support at the recent AGM. The new Rules have now been approved by the Registrar of Incoporated Societies and so the new Board was able to meet last week after its transition from the Advisory Board.

I'm delighted that all our previous Board members agreed to transition into the new structure so we have continuity and I'm looking forward to working with Grant Nicholson (Deputy Chair), Samantha Sharif, Kaye McAulay (both independent directors) and Greg Dearsly (President) to help set our course and keep the good ship NZISM on course.

The Institute of Directors describes four pillars of good governance practice:

1. purpose and strategic direction
2. diversity and board culture
3. holding to account
4. risk management/compliance.

At our first meeting we started to address each of these issues.

Having discussed our revised purpose statement and strategic plan a few months ago we were able to present this for endorsement at the AGM so our first task is to work with our CEO, Selena Armstrong, to develop a business plan and budget that turns our aspirations into a reality, and to identify the human and financial resources needed to deliver. Selena will continue to report on progress against the new plan in her quarterly reports.

As a Board we want to be as open and transparent as possible recognising that we are there to represent you, the members. Our structure, with the President as your direct elected representative, two directors who are current members and two independent directors, gives us a good balance of experience in health and safety, governance, law, risk management and finance.

We have commissioned work on our organisational risk profile to consider both downside risks (cyber security, loss of key personnel, health and safety, financial mismanagemet, complaints and brand risk), as well as how to maximise the achievement of our objectives. Our soon-to-be-announced new Risk and Assurance Lead will be heading up this work and will have a direct link to me, as Chair, to ensure we have complete integrity in our processes. This person will also ensure we meet our regulatory obligations under the Incorporated Societies Act, Employment Relations Act, Health and Safety at Work Act, etc.

This is a really significant time in our journey and marks another step up in our professionalism, both internally and externally. Im excited to be able to play a part in this and look forward to working with the Senior Leadership Team and you, the wider membership, over the coming period. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or comments or if there are any upcoming events that you think I can contribute to in my new role: chair@nzism.org

Mike Cosman CMNZISM, Chair

Ka timata te haerenga ma te waahi kotahi - the journey starts with a single step.