Chief Governance Officer

Not to be confused with chief governing officer

The chief governance officer (CGO) is normally a senior vice executive reporting to the CEO, however in the not-for-profit sector when an organization uses Policy Governance the Chair of the Board often takes on the role of CGO, who is tasked with directing the people, business processes and systems needed to enable good governance from inside the corporation in support of the board of directors. In some geographies the role is assumed by the chief counsel, in others by a corporate or company secretary.

The role is likely to grow in prominence as corporate governance requirements - in voluntary codes or law - grow and mature. The heads of several governance-related functions may report to the CGO, including community relations / public affairs, corporate strategy, business continuity management, business performance management, compliance management / internal controls, corporate communication, corporate philanthropy, enterprise risk management, ethics management, internal audit, investor relations, legal services, stakeholder management and sustainability management. Also, the appointment of a CGO with clout is both a signal to the market that the company takes corporate governance seriously and a way to increase the market value of a firm if, as research by McKinsey shows, investors will pay a premium for the stock of well-governed companies.

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Wikipedia