Corporate Governance in Europe

Corporate Governance Report 2009

Boards in turbulent times

Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

Corporate Governance Ratings 2009

77% 71% 66% 64% 62% 60% 53% 52% 47% 41% 39% 37% 36% United Kingdom Netherlands Sweden Switzerland Finland France Italy Spain Belgium Portugal Germany Denmark Austria

Estonia Denmark Ireland United Kingdom Norway Sweden Finland

For a breakdown of how these ratings are generated, please refer to page 4

Latvia Lithuania

Netherlands Belgium Germany Poland

Belarus

Luxembourg Czech Republic Slovakia France Switzerland Liech. Austria Slovenia Andorra Hungary Croatia Bosnia & Herz. Mont. Italy Serbia Kosovo Albania Macedonia Romania

Spain Portugal

Bulgaria

Greece

Morocco

Algeria

Tunisia

Malta

Foreword

The global financial crisis has heralded a new international order that has yet to be understood fully or accepted widely. The economic changes happening now are structural, not cyclical, and therefore truly transformative. These changes will affect every company in every sector across the world. There has been a chronic loss of trust in the world’s systems and institutions: company boards must be the vanguard of the effort to win back the confidence of customers and investors alike. A well-balanced board is critical to the effective strategic direction and running of any company. Good governance and leadership will help rebuild confidence in our business systems, providing a stable framework for sustainable growth. The tenth anniversary report by Heidrick & Struggles (and their sixth comprehensive survey of Europe’s progress in Corporate Governance) is particularly timely. The Professor Klaus Schwab Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum 2007 report was entitled Raising the bar and the findings of the 2009 report reveal the vast majority of companies have continued to raise the bar in terms of the calibre of...