After a 30-year career in executive and global leadership roles at Dow Chemical, Davida Johnson has retired to pursue a Non-Executive Director path.
Having represented Dow in a Joint Venture Board first as a Director then as Chair, she knew what was required to perform. Nonetheless, because Governance is an increasingly crucial issue, Davida decided to extend her expertise by enrolling in the Chartered Director certification courses offered by the Institute of Directors (IOD).
“I think they were pretty much the first people to offer this professional training to current and prospective Board members,” Davida explains. “The certification consists of modules covering HR, marketing, finance, strategy development, legal and governance. It was the latter two that I was most interested in, to top up my business experience.”
According to her, one of the best aspects of the course was her fellow attendees. “They were a diverse group of public and private sector leaders, primarily UK-focused. I think, however, that as the IOD expands, the diversity of attendees will increase, particularly as European Boards embrace higher governance.”
Having pursued the IOD Chartered Director Certification Davida has now complemented her corporate and industrial experience with Non-Executive Directorships in the Not for Profit sector. “There are many organizations in this space looking to increase their business savvy as they reduce reliance on traditional fundraising and develop products and services to generate revenue.”
About the Institute of Directors
The IOD is an influential and respected membership organization in the UK, and an international network of branches and affiliates whose objective is to support, represent and set standards for the leadership skills of directors worldwide. Its courses, qualifications, board development services, coaching and mentoring aim to help executives and organizations achieve success.
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