Defining corporate governance is an elusive task. For the NZ Super Fund, the clue is in its statutory name: guardians. It oversees the fund at the top level. It sets risk management policy, reviews strategy and analyses the long and short-term fund performance.
Fund chairman Gavin Walker defines the board's role: "We're the guardians of the fund -- our primary responsibility is really oversight -- setting policy in relation to risk management, reviewing strategy, and reviewing the long and short term performance of the fund".
See video: Excellence in governance
"It is a big responsibility and I think it's one that all guardians including myself are very aware of. We have stakeholders that number 4.5 million New Zealanders. We are responsible for the future part funding of their superannuation so I can assure you that we take our responsibilities very seriously."
On that note, Walker acknowledged that the board's position in relation to the operational arms of the company demands special attention.
"I think one of our key strengths is our level of communication between the board and the management team," he explains. "In my view, as chairman of the board, it is absolutely critical that we have open and transparent communication between all the stakeholders."
Shouldering great responsibility seems to be a recurring theme in the governance of the fund. The organisation was a founding member of the Corporate Governance Forum, the establishment of which Walker calls essential: "One of the things we pride ourselves on at the fund is our openness around communication. We're a very transparent investor. The forum was an opportunity for us to take our expectations around corporate governance to the New Zealand marketplace and tell investee companies about those expectations."
See video: Red carpet with Holly Ryan
As far as the governance of such an important entity is concerned, the challenges are many. "We like in a changing world. It seems to be every day both domestically and internationally, there are new regulations which affect us directly or affect those participating in financial services related to us."
The NZ Super Fund being what it is, the board has a unique set of considerations to engage with, particularly around the element of risk inherent in the business.
"Corporate risk culture has to be owned at the very top -- In this case owned by the board," says Walker. "We're always trying to find out whether the settings around risk culture are right.
"We're always surveying our staff, always interested in their feedbacks, but at the end of the day it's really the outcomes that are important around risk culture. Our standards are high, our expectations are high, and I'm pleased to say is that basically it think that we have a very strong risk culture at the fund as a result."
The eclectic and top-level nature of their nature can make it hard to assess their effectiveness.
"That's very tough," Walker agrees. "The way I look at the Superannuation Fund is that it's a long-term investment vehicle. If you look at the fund in that way, we first invested in September 2003 and over the period of 12 years we've generated a return of 10.1 per cent per annum and that's after cost and before tax."
10.1 per cent equates to $19.31 billion over that period, after costs and before tax.
Runner-up: Air New Zealand
It's more than a year since Tony Carter was appointed chairman of the Air New Zealand board. In that time both he and the Air New Zealand board have kept the wheels turning in what is always a tumultuous industry.
Air New Zealand posted another year of record profits, the latest in a series of stellar performances over the past three to four years. In addition to the financials, Air New Zealand's year will be marked by its push into the digital age, establishing the role of Chief Digital Officer this year.
The board is helming a fast-growing company. Off the back of increased demand, fleet capacity grew 12 per cent last year and 11 per cent this year, the fastest rate of growth in the airline's 75 year history.
The board continues to reap the rewards of their executive appointments. Successes from CEO Christopher Luxon and CFO Rob McDonald -- both Top 200 Award recipients in their respective categories -- are a testament to the board's sharp eye for talent.
Runner-up: NZ Shareholders Association
The New Zealand Shareholders Association seeks to support and encourage the ethical management of listed companies for the benefit of all shareholders.
The judging panel has been impressed by the board's ability to thrive despite the departure of founder Bruce Sheppard in 2010, a man that the judges called a "hard act to follow."
Despite that, the board, led by long-time chairman John Hawkins, has been a vision of consistency. This has been especially important given the Association's responsibility for pooling shareholder influence New Zealand-wide and putting it to work to advocate for shareholders and their interests.
"They're a grass-roots 'people that pay their money' organisation," remarked the judges.
The role that corporate governing bodies play can be varied, but one consistent theme is leadership. The Award judges noted that the Shareholders Association board has embraced this responsibility wholeheartedly.
The judges remarked that "the Association is not afraid to take strong public stances on most subjects including those that people shy away from that need to be done and whether appropriate or not."
