Rome 14 February 2019 12:30
- Chairman Giovanni De Gennaro: "The award recognises the work that Leonardo has done to strengthen its corporate governance. This has included establishing greater transparency and aligning the Company with national and international standards and best practices.”
Leonardo has been awarded ‘Best Corporate Governance 2019’ in the European Aerospace and Defence sector by ‘Ethical Boardroom’ magazine, which analyses governance and other corporate issues internationally. The award recognises companies with especially effective approaches to corporate governance, which are therefore creating long-term value for stakeholders. Leonardo is also the only Italian company to receive an award in 2019.
Leonardo Chairman Giovanni De Gennaro said: “We are proud to have received this award which recognises the significant work carried out over the last few years to improve the Company’s governance. We have harnessed our capacity to strengthen our corporate governance policies, respond to the need for greater transparency and align ourselves with national and international standards and best practices. Effective and solid governance is fundamental to long-term sustainable growth and underpins our 2018-2022 Industrial Plan.”
For the last five years, the award has been presented to companies that demonstrate leadership in corporate governance. Leonardo was assessed against a range of factors including overall corporate governance, sustainability, performance-related-pay, enterprise risk management, investor engagement, boardroom diversity and operational effectiveness.
One area where Leonardo showed particular strength was in boardroom diversity, with a positive gender balance (33% female), director’s independence (75%) and a good mix of skills and experience. Other key strengths included an equitable and transparent remuneration policy and a robust internal risk management and control system. Furthermore, in 2016, the Nomination Committee was entrusted with specific functions in the areas of Sustainability and Corporate Governance in light of the close interplay between the two issues.
The ‘Best Corporate Governance’ award is just the latest formal recognition of Leonardo’s responsible approach to business. The Company was the first of the world’s top-ten Aerospace, Defense & Security companies to be certified as ISO 37001 compliant, having put in place an anti-bribery management system to meet this international standard for anti-corruption management practices