During her ten years as Vice Chair of ASML, the semiconductor equipment manufacturer emerged as one of the crown jewels of Europe's corporate landscape. In this PLATOW interview Annet Aris discusses key lessons for effective Corporate Governance. Annet Aris, ASML is one of the ultimate crown jewels of Europe's corporate landscape. From 2015-2025 you were intimately involved with the company as its Vice-Chair. What role does a supervisory board play, and what makes an effective board? There's no simple answer, but if we step back, a board has three main roles. The first is to ensure the house is in order-accurate financials, robust control systems, compliance, etc. The second is strategic oversight. Just like in Germany, with its two-tier board system, a Dutch supervisory board doesn't design strategy but challenges and approves it and the ensuing major strategic decisions such as mergers or investments. It must challenge management: Is the strategy comprehensive? Is there a proper balance between value creation and risk? The third-and, I believe, the most important-is being the employer of the management board. This involves assessing whether the executive team is the right one. Are team dynamics healthy? Do they have the right competencies for the future? Also, are they compensated fairly, and what KPIs are they measured against? Because of these diverse roles, boards need members with different mindsets: detail-oriented individuals for governance and risk, strategic thinkers for vision, and empathetic individuals to support executives in their often-isolated roles. A high-performing board brings all of these skills together and works with trust and transparency-especially in its relationship with the executive team. Already the first task-keeping the house in order-seems a daunting one, especially in the aftermath of scandals such as Wirecard. How much insight does the supervisory board really have? There's always a risk. Every year, many boards sign off on accounts and compliance. You'll always find outliers where something goes wrong-Wirecard was one of those. It doesn't mean the entire system is flawed, but it's a wake-up call. As a board member, especially if you're only present every few months, you rely heavily on internal and external auditors as well as regular more informal interaction with the CFO and his/her team. It's critical to ensure ...Den vollständigen Artikel lesen ...
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