Sunday 02 September 2018 11:14 am

Institute of Directors appoints new chair as its bids to move away from racism scandal

The Institute of Directors (IoD) announced today it has appointed corporate governance expert Charlotte Valeur as its new chair, following the ousting of previous chair Barbara Judge amid bullying and racism accusations.

Valeur, who founded private equity firm Brook Street Partners in 2003, has a background in finance with stints at Societe Generale, BNP-Paribas and SG Warburg.

She also focuses on corporate governance having founded her own firm – the Global Governance Group – that specialises in the subject.

Her appointment, which will take effect from tomorrow, follows the messy and very public demise of previous chair Judge, who resigned in March after accusations of racism and bullying.

Judge, who denied the claims, was accused of reducing her assistant to tears and making racist comments about staff, some of which were reported to have been secretly recorded by the IoD’s director general, Stephen Martin.

Valeur said: “Good corporate governance is not only fundamental to the IoD’s charter, but is also one of the UK’s prime assets in the global marketplace. I look forward to continuing the IoD’s work providing first-class professional development for directors and leading the governance policy debate.”

Valeur, who was born in Denmark and lives in Jersey, has held seven directorships at public companies.

She is a non-executive director at construction company Laing O'Rourke, a non-executive director at JP Morgan Morgan Convertibles Income Fund and chair of Blackstone GSO Loan Financing.

IoD director general Stephen Martin said: “With a new chair in place, I’m confident that we can further strengthen our position as the UK’s leading governance institute. I know that Charlotte’s insight and genuine commitment to good governance will ensure we are perfectly placed to lead as we begin a fresh chapter in the Institute’s history.”