Board Matters episode: "Governing at pace" with Kevin Jenkins | IoD NZ

With extensive experience with start-up companies, Kevin Jenkins CMInstD is interested in how the specific needs of emerging businesses impact the role of directors.

Founder and director of consultancy Martin Jenkins, chair of the advisory board at Victoria University’s School of Government and the director of artisan “subscription cheese” service, The Cheese Wheel, Kevin has wide-ranging governance experience to draw on.

In this podcast episode, he asks: Can the Four Pillars of Governance Best Practice be applied successfully when working at the speed of a start-up company? His answer touches on the importance of time for contemplation, an understanding of company purpose and a willingness to find efficient ways to govern.

“I heard, on the Advanced Directors Course, about a bank that was presenting its directors with 1,500-page board packs. That’s insane,” Kevin says.

“People are grappling towards better ways of presenting information, and not only looking backwards, but looking forwards – which is what a good board should do.”

For directors in the start-up scene, the challenge of delivering best-practice governance will inevitably come into conflict with the rate of change in the business – and managing this issue is one of the great challenges in the sector, he says.