Evonik and the GCC Board Directors Institute sign partnership agreement

Evonik, one of the world's leading specialty chemicals companies, and the GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI), the pre-eminent organisation for Boards and directors in the Gulf, have signed a three-year partnership agreement designed to help develop high-performance boards in the Gulf. 

Headquartered in Germany, the conglomerate has maintained a strategic role in the MENA for more than four decades and in partnership with Tasnee have erected the region’s first superabsorbents production facility in Saudi Arabia.

“We are delighted to have Evonik join our network of partners and sponsors as a Corporate Affiliate,” said Jane Valls, Executive Director, GCC Board Directors Institute (BDI). “Now more than ever, sound board and governance practices are under the microscope of investors and most stakeholders. Working with a global leader like Evonik will support us in promoting the latest corporate governance trends and best practices, improving the effectiveness of boards, and as a result contributing positively to the development of GCC economies. We look forward to a fruitful cooperation and lasting relationship.”

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Klaus Engel, Group CEO of Evonik, said: “In the complex and ever-changing world we live in, a company needs strong guiding principles to take position as a credible and reliable partner. We at Evonik are aware of the responsibility that our company has and therefore consider the question of corporate governance a key element in our management philosophy; we believe that transparent corporate governance is the key to our good reputation and to sustainable value. For this purpose, Evonik has partnered with GCC Board Directors Institute to gain further insight into best practices in the Gulf.” 

“As a leading speciality chemicals company we are always on the lookout for partnerships with organisations that hold the same values as us,” Mr. Michael Wring, President of Evonik Middle East, added. “We believe that by sharing our experiences with the GCC Board Directors Institute we can help promote best practice sharing at regional and international level, while also strengthening our business acumen needed to engage in successful economic activities.” 

Since its inception in 2007, BDI has grown into a large advisory body for directors and senior executives of state-owned enterprises, family-owned businesses, listed companies, multinationals, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds across the GCC. Today, this not-for-profit organisation works with over 700 board directors representing over 1800 blue-chip companies, providing them with the tools to acquire the know-how to reach and sustain effective governance.