Observatory on Corporate Governance

In 2004, The European House - Ambrosetti has set up the Observatory on Corporate Governance, a permanent platform for the analysis and comparison on the challenges and best practices on corporate governance. Its mission is to provide actionable proposals and indications to promote the achievement of excellence in the governance systems of Italian companies, both listed and unlisted.

Over the years, the analyzes and reflections carried out by the Observatory in this process have concerned (and in some cases, anticipated) the most topical issues for corporate governance in Italy, including:

• the optimization of the overall effectiveness of the functioning of the Board of Directors (with particular attention to the list voting and the composition mechanisms of the Board)
• the methodologies for the Board Evaluation
• the opportunities and criticalities linked to the alternative governance models to the traditional one (two-tier and one-tier system) the remuneration policies and incentive models for Top Management and the members of the Board of Directors
• the role of institutional investors in improving governance systems
• the profile of the Directors and the appointment mechanisms
• the adoption of succession plans for top management and the institution of whistleblowing (confidential reporting)
• the development of a guide to anti-corruption compliance programs
• the proposal of a synthetic and innovative representation of the contents of the Report on Corporate Governance and Ownership Structures (Executive Summary)
• sustainability management and non-financial disclosure
• dialogue between Issuers, institutional investors and proxy advisors

All contents are developed with the contribution of qualified experts who integrate sector skills and practical and concrete experiences.

The Observatory has a variable geometry operation and is composed of:

• a Scientific Committee, which includes: Mr. Sergio Erede (founding partner of the BonelliErede Law Firm); Prof. Piergaetano Marchetti (Professor Emeritus at the "L. Bocconi" University; President of the Corriere della Sera Foundation); Prof. Stefano Preda (Full Professor of Financial Markets and Institutions at the Politecnico di Milano; former President of the Italian Stock Exchange); Prof. Paola Schwizer (Affiliate Professor of Banking and Insurance, SDA Bocconi School of Management; Full Professor of Economics of Financial Intermediaries, University of Parma)
• the representatives and/or delegates of the partner companies of the initiative. 
• representatives of the market and of the reference institutions
• the working group of The European House - Ambrosetti