Improving The Board
The RTÉ board should include the organisation’s CFO and more individuals with media industry expertise, writes Anthony Quigley
The board of RTÉ has 12 members. Six board members are appointed on the nomination of the Minister for Media (Catherine Martin), and politicians in the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media propose four members to the minister. The Director General of RTÉ, the chief executive of the organisation, is on the board but the Chief Financial Officer is not.
The 12-person board is completed by a member of staff. Of the current RTÉ board, only three individuals have been involved in the senior management of a broadcaster or programme making companies. Notably, no-one on the current RTÉ board has any senior management experience in radio.
To have a resilient RTÉ that positively impacts all stakeholders, the organisation must ensure that its board is set up correctly and is effectively trained in all aspects of governance.
It is also best practice to ensure that the CEO (in RTÉ’s case, the DG) and the CFO sit on the board. Only three ‘insiders’ really belong on boards: the CEO, the CFO, and the Chief Operating Officer. The CEO and COO are responsible for explaining and justifying the organisation’s strategic direction to its stakeholders. The CFO should also be on the board of directors, as he or she shares fiduciary responsibility for both the quality of the numbers and the financial conduct of the company.
Executives like the CEO and CFO are responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, whereas the board is responsible for strategic direction and supervising the company’s activities and evaluating its performance. When disruption is a dominant force for a business model like RTÉ, its board should collectively possess knowledge, skills, and experience ranging from finance and law to industry trends and operational challenges.
The board chair’s role is to lead board meetings and ensure that the executive committees and non-executive board members interact effectively. The best board chairs use the time between meetings to get input on agendas, address complex questions and issues, and identify hot topics that could derail the board.
Non-executive directors should be appointed for their industry experience and strategic input. The board and the executive must also respect their voices and value their insights. Choosing independent nonexecutive directors for optics rather than industry experience is unwise because the organisation’s fate depends on the board.
Personal qualities such as integrity and the capacity to listen with an open mind are vital characteristics of good non-execs. Equally crucial is the willingness to engage in debate with other board members and the courage to make difficult decisions. The ultimate goal is an open, constructive board where directors have enough confidence to challenge one another vigorously.