The Global Director Development Circle

The Global Director Development Circle (GDDC) was launched in 2004 in response to the increasingly international nature of business and the need for directors to keep abreast of corporate governance and legislation across multiple markets. Made up of the leading professional membership organisations for directors from across six continents, the Global Director Development Circle aims to share expertise in corporate governance and professional director development. It fosters closer co-operation between members, sharing knowledge and good practice at national, regional and global levels. The founding members of the Global Director Development Circle are globally recognised for their pre-eminence in board and director development activity and collectively represent around 100,000 individual directors. The group comprises:

Australian Institute of Company Directors, with more than 20,000 members and with offices in each state, AICD is Australia’s leading professional organisation providing education, information, and advocacy for directors;

Canada, Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), represents the directors of Canada’s public, private, Crown and not-for-profit organizations. The ICD is committed to serving the director community in Canada, primarily by acting as a ‘body of knowledge’ and fostering excellence with a view to strengthening the governance and performance of Canadian corporations. The ICD achieves this mission through education, professional certification and advocacy of best practices in governance; New Zealand, Institute of Directors, with over 3,500 members from across the spectrum of New Zealand enterprise, the Institute of Directors in New Zealand promotes excellence in corporate governance, represents directors’ interests and facilitates their professional development through education and training. The Institute offers director accreditation which allows members to demonstrate a commitment to professional standards and show evidence of their professional status in terms of their knowledge and experience. The Institute also operates a board appointment service, an advisory service offering guidance for boards and a web based board evaluation system;

South Africa, Institute of Directors, one of the oldest Directors’ Institutes and the instigator of the world renowned King Reports on Corporate Governance for South Africa. Provides networking and information sharing for members, board advisory services as well as director development for individuals and organisations;

United Kingdom, Institute of Directors, the oldest and largest Directors’ Institute in the world with over 52,000 members and 20 years of director training, certification and accreditation expertise in the UK and overseas including Chartered Directorship;

United States, National Association of Corporate Directors, America’s oldest and largest non-profit membership organisation for corporate board members, shaping governance practice in the U.S. for nearly three decades through education, research, and thought leadership. Serving 16,000 members and clients, NACD offers the Certificate of Director Education, recognised by U.S. regulators, ratings groups, recruiters and boards.