News Highlights
Author:
Maha Al-Azar,
Media Relations Officer,
Office of Information and Public Relations,
ma110@aub.edu.lb
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Sir Geoffrey Owen lectures on Corporate Governance
 | Sir Geoffrey Owen at the lecture
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Does the family-owned business model work better in emerging markets than the open business model that is practiced in the United States and the United Kingdom?
Sir Geoffrey Owen, former Financial Times editor and London School of Economics visiting scholar, raised these questions with an audience of about 50, at a lecture held in College Hall on Tuesday October 25. The lecture was entitled 'Issues and Practices in Corporate Governance: Challenges and Opportunities in Emerging Markets.'
Sir Geoffrey, who is also a member of the school's International Board of Overseers, described two types of business models, each with their own approach to corporate governance. The financial system adopted by the Anglo-Saxon model encourages stock markets and high turn-over in shares, a large number of publicly-listed companies and companies that are operated by professional managers. In contrast, the corporate governance models followed by the Germans and the Japanese are characterized by few publicly-listed companies, high inter-company shareholding, and a greater number of family-owned businesses. |
 | Over 50 people attanded the lecture
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"Is the US system best?" asked Sir Geoffrey. While he did not have a ready answer to that question, he indicated that 'some kind of hybrid system between the two models' might be best for emerging markets.
"It might be possible to combine the advantages of family control while opening to outside investors and maintaining high standards of corporate governance," he said.
Describing family-owned businesses as more stable and committed to business, Sir Geoffrey said that actions on two levels could allow the formation of a hybrid model.
First, the government should improve institutional arrangements, such as judicial and legal processes, so as to protect investors. Second, companies should improve their corporate governance arrangements by becoming more transparent.
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"Better corporate governance leads to higher returns on equity and greater efficiency," he said.
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