The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development wants to improve the effectiveness of boards of directors, both in developed and less-developed countries.

Ira Millstein, who chaired the 1998 Business Sector Advisory Group on Corporate Governance to the OECD, will serve as chairman of a group that will include Peter Dey, author of two reports on corporate governance in Canada; Sir Adrian Cadbury, author of the 1992 Cadbury Report on corporate governance in Britain, and former chairman of Cadbury Schweppes; Gerhard Cromme, chair of the German Corporate Governance Code Commission and chairman of the Supervisory Board at Thyssen Krupp; and, Dominique de la Garanderie, a director at Renault.

OECD Secretary General Donald Johnston will meet with Millstein and other corporate governance leaders in New York on Friday to launch a Business Sector Group to give practical guidance to board members trying to approve corporate governance.

The group will provide concrete examples and advice on how board members can put good corporate governance into practice, notably in the absence of detailed or prescriptive regulation. This “Boardroom Guide to the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance” will draw on the group’s collective experience to address a range of challenges that directors face in boardrooms around the world.

“The role of the board is critical to ensuring broad scale effective corporate governance, particularly in circumstances where regulations cannot, or should not, provide any guidance. So many issues are a matter of judgment, and self-help by the private sector in sharing these experiences will keep corporate governance improving over time”, said Millstein.

“Boards of directors worldwide have come under increasing criticism in the last several years for failing in their obligation to oversee the performance of management. We’ve witnessed a number of graphic instances of the corporate disasters that can result, to the detriment of investors, employees and entire communities. This new OECD initiative will offer practical guidance and hopefully spur boards around the world to embrace an active and attentive role,” added Johnston.

The work of the group will be discussed at Corporate Governance Roundtables taking place in Asia, Latin America and Russia this year and a draft of the report will be issued on the OECD web site for public consultation and comment in late 2005.