Corporate governance leader receives award from Yorkshire university
ONE of the world’s leading authorities on corporate governance has received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Leeds Metropolitan University.
Senior Counsel and former Judge of the High Court of South Africa, Professor Mervyn King, received the award yesterday for his service to the international community and contribution to public life.
Widely acknowledge as one of the world’s foremost authorities on corporate governance, reporting and sustainability, he is the past chairman of the United Nations Steering Committee of Eminent Persons, who reviewed the governance and oversight within the United Nations, its funds, programmes and specialised agencies and the Global Reporting Initiative.
On receiving his award, Professor King commented: “Receiving an honorary doctorate from this great institution is something to be cherished. It is a recognition of the work that I’ve done around the world for the improvement of the governance of entities both public and private and the way they report; and hence I’m chairman of the world body of integrated reporting. This recognition is personally satisfying but also it’s a recognition of the work being done by the International Integrated Reporting Council.”
In May this year, he was appointed honorary president of Leeds Metropolitan University’s Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility, which brings together academic expertise, research, consultancy and advice on governance, leadership and global responsibility. He delivered the keynote speech at the Centre’s launch, followed by a public guest lecture on behalf of Leeds Business School.
As well as being a regular guest speaker at international conferences, Professor King has lectured on corporate issues in 50 countries and is a regular speaker on radio and television talk shows, running his own television series, King on Governance. He has also had three books published on corporate citizenship, sustainability and integrated reporting.
He consults and advises on corporate legal issues and is also chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council and of the King Committee on Corporate Governance, which issued three comprehensive reports in 1994, 2002 and 2009 endorsing an integrated and inclusive approach to corporate governance in South Africa.
Others receiving honorary degrees from Leeds Metropolitan this week include: mosque leader Qari Asim, who has worked tirelessly to build bridges between communities in Leeds since the 7/7 terror attacks; managing director at the helm of the Wakefield-based organisation Group Rhodes, Mark Ridgway OBE, DL, who oversees the group’s seven engineering companies; award-winning artist and Leeds Metropolitan graduate, Charlotte Harris, whose work is featured in the collection of London’s National Portrait Gallery; Hanif Malik, founder and chief executive of the Hamara Healthy Living Centre – the largest ethnic minority organisation in the voluntary and community sector in Leeds; chairman of the Leeds Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ) and champion of the city’s Sikh community, Harbans Singh Sagoo, who has played a major part in supporting Sikhs in South Leeds to be a part of mainstream society and former property lawyer Nigel McClea, who has led on some of Yorkshire’s largest property projects including the Royal Armouries Museum and the Jorvik Viking Centre.
Leeds Metropolitan University vice chancellor, Professor Susan Price, said: “We are delighted to recognise such a wide variety of individuals who have made a significant contribution to their field and are each an inspiration to our students and graduates. This summer’s awards are varied, with key people from a range of backgrounds including business, arts, law, sport and the music and entertainment industry. We are very much looking forward to welcoming them to our Headingley Campus to celebrate with us as we recognise the achievements of our graduating students.”
