FROM THE DG JONATHAN GELDART
‘Aspire to be bold in this fast-changing
landscape’ In his first column for Director, the IoD’s new director general urges members not to ‘waste a good crisis’ – and to keep innovating, learning and sharing views with the institute
This is one of my first opportunities, having just taken up the role of director general, to introduce myself to you. As a long-time reader of Director, I’m finding it strange but exciting to be a first-time writer.
I’ve been privileged to observe the organisation from a close vantage point over the past couple of years as the volunteer chair of the IoD’s Yorkshire and North East region. From that perspective I saw the enormous potential of the institute to better serve its members, not only as their voice to government but also as a champion of governance and what it takes to be a better director. It was with this in mind, several months before the role of DG was even a fleeting thought, that I embarked upon the IoD training pathway to become a Chartered Director. The qualification was – and is – truly world class in content and delivery. My classmates were working in a wide range of industries and hailed from as far afield as the UAE and China. It reminded me that, no matter how experienced you may be in business, you can and should never stop learning. The IoD is truly a great institution. It has at its heart the purpose of supporting directors to be the best we can be, so as to develop better businesses, supporting a better economy, ultimately
for a better world. The motto on our crest says it all: “Integrity and enterprise.” These core tenets are just as important now as they were when our forerunners penned them.
In a period of extreme uncertainty and fluidity in both the business and political worlds, I’m reminded of the phrase “never let a good crisis go to waste”. Business leaders across the country are undoubtedly feeling the continued pinch of uncertainty, but this is also a time where we can aspire to be bold and agile in our fast-changing economic and sociopolitical landscape.
Lastly, you may be wondering what I’ve done with my life to this point. I was born in Wales, educated in Scotland (the University of St Andrews) and raised in Yorkshire, where I still live. In addition to my many years in business, both in the UK and around the world, I have spent a good deal of the past decade in China. There I learnt much about how paying attention to culture, communication and community has an enormous influence on success, both in business and in life. I hope that these experiences, coupled with those drawn from my polar and other expeditions, give me a unusual perspective and mindset to call upon as we advance as an organisation. I’m looking forward to the challenge.
See the next issue of Director for an in-depth interview with the new director general. To ask him a question in the Q&A, send it to directormagazine @
seven.co.uk
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
Such is the complexity of our political landscape that, by the time you read this, we might have seen the arrival of a new government, the completion of Brexit, one of these outcomes or neither of them. While Westminster is demanding our attention, we all have organisations to run. For my part, I’m focusing on the realities facing IoD members. I recently spoke to a member who sits on the board of a fish supplier on the east coast. Their business has almost doubled its turnover in three years, but is grappling with the present uncertainties. They told me of their frustrations, needing to know things as basic as a commodity code for their product and the relevant duty attached after Brexit. Such practical cases of how firms are being affected help me to put flesh on the bones of the data we produce to encourage informed decision-making in government. I look forward to telling more of your stories in our regular meetings with ministers. As I listen to IoD members, I’m hearing the practical, thoughtful and
heartfelt deliberations of directors under stress. Please keep talking to us – it’s your views that I’ll be taking to Westminster and seeking to champion.
Jonathan Geldart is the IoD’s director general. To have your say, visit
iod.com/policyvoice. Follow the institute on Twitter via @The_IoD
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