What was your upbringing like and how has it shaped the person you are today?

My life started from humble beginnings. I grew up in a household from a low socioeconomic background. My dad worked night shifts driving trucks to provide for the family, while my mum stayed at home to look after us because childcare costs were higher than what she could earn from working. My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer when I was 17, just before my A-levels, but he battled against the odds and thankfully survived, but now lives with multiple sclerosis. It was a struggle, but we coped. I had to fight for my education and starting my career was tough too. But all these experiences have made me the tenacious, driven and resilient person I am today, and I’m grateful for that.

What made you decide to go into governance as a career?

I stumbled across the world of governance completely by accident when I was studying to become a lawyer in London. I bumped into a former waitressing colleague on Christmas Eve 2007. She had since become a Governance Professional and told me all about the profession. The rest is history, as they say.

How has your career path progressed since then?

Seven roles in 10 years with clear strategic choices made along the way on the type of experience that I needed to become a well-rounded professional. This involved working for larger and smaller organisations at various stages of their life cycle from the development and growth phase, to the mature or plateau stage through to decline and renewal stage. Each stage has its own unique challenges and opportunities and being part of each of these has enabled me to understand the key to sustainable growth and success.

How did becoming the youngest person in your industry to take on a C-suite role at a FTSE 250 company define you as a leader and what did you learn from the experience?

Having to work with high-level executives and board members at such a young age required me to quickly improve my communication style. I was expected to provide feedback, interjecting and steering conversations as required. This made me both tenacious, but also pragmatic; when you’re in the boardroom you realise just how much there is to get done and the time pressures on discussing and making a decision, so your information flow has to be strong.

What was your main aim in setting up Beyond Governance?

My main focus is on changing the face of governance, good governance creates resilience (the speed at which an organisation recovers after a disturbance) and resistance (the ability to remain stable when confronted with disturbances). We want to bring to the fore that all organisational scandals and collapses relate back to governance. I want every organisation to realise that good governance results in efficiency, long-term sustainability and positive financial returns.

What are your proudest achievements at the company?

I am especially proud of winning Governance Professional of the Year 2022 from the Chartered Governance Institute UK and Ireland. But it wasn’t all down to me. It was also thanks to the hard work and dedication of the team around me. And its testament to the service we provide clients.

Through our B-Corp accreditation, we have established many ways of supporting both our clients and employees. We constantly strive to put our people first and give them a voice, and are always open to feedback. Our clients value our wisdom and the fact we always exceed expectations to provide feedback on how to improve their governance.

How has becoming a mother of twins changed your outlook on business and your role?

Not just having twins, but identical twins, has required me to see beyond the surface of someone’s personality to really get to know them on a deeper level. Governance is all about the people that function in the organisational ecosystem and how they interact with each other when no one is watching. I have learnt that no two people are the same, even if they are genetically identical. Becoming a mother and having to juggle multiple tasks, has also enabled me to fast-track my communication, problem-solving and time-management skills.

What are the biggest challenges facing organisations when it comes to governance today?

The biggest challenge is understanding that governance is at the heart of the solution to building resilience and resistance that supports the long-term success of the organisation. If more organisations understood this, more value would be created and retained and fewer scandals and collapses would occur.

 And opportunities?

 The biggest opportunity governance creates is the ability to stabilise an organisation’s ecosystem and create a lasting culture that will support the long-term stability and optimisation of that organisation. With this comes increased predictability, decisions can be made faster and when disturbances hit resilience and resistance support the organisation to recover quicker.

 How can organisations create a strong governance strategy?

 To create a strong governance strategy, organisations should start by assessing their current governance practices and identifying areas of improvement. They should then establish clear governance objectives and develop policies, procedures, and controls that align with those objectives. Finally, they should promote a culture of transparency, accountability, and ethical behaviour, which can foster trust with stakeholders and support the organisation’s long-term success. The area of governance is vast however there are many useful guides and templates on our website which can be downloaded for free which may help on the journey.

 What should employers be doing to reassess their strategies and operations in order to retain and motivate staff in the wake of the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting?

People want to work for organisations that care about them, have a great culture and support their values. Strong governance enables the board and executive management to embody this within the company’s mission, values and strategy. By thoroughly assessing the accountability and transparency structures within governance, they can make their organisation a highly productive place which candidates are lining up to join as well as reducing the number of resignations. It all starts with having a strong corporate governance in place.

How do you see Beyond Governance evolving over the next five to 10 years? What are your main targets?

I see us growing exponentially over the coming years. ESG is growing year on year, and we’re raising the profile of good governance and its benefits. I’m excited to continue to grow our multi-award-winning team to be one of the world’s leading governance consultancies. Above all else we’re looking to grow whilst retaining our culture and good governance practises, we want to remain an employer of choice and provide our employees with work life balance, great work and a dynamic culture.

The post Changing the face of governance: an interview with Erika Eliasson-Norris, Founder and CEO of Beyond Governance appeared first on CEO Medium.

What motivated Erika to found Beyond Governance?

Beyond Governance was born in 2019 when Erika identified the opportunity to provide boards, executives and fellow Governance Professionals with tailored advice and support from seasoned Governance Professionals. With a mission of helping organisations find practical solutions to challenges around culture, decision-making and people, Erika is changing the face of governance and helping the C-suites, Chairs and investors to realise their organisation’s full potential.

What sets Erika and Beyond Governance apart?

At Beyond Governance, Erika’s unique drive and inquisitive spirit have resulted in a culture that stands out from the rest. Focusing solely on ex-in-house personnel for their services, they provide practical solutions based on real experiences instead of theoretical knowledge. The remote working environment also allows them unprecedented flexibility to work anywhere in the UK and beyond, while enjoying better productivity and work-life balance. What sets Beyond Governance apart is how they have built a strong organisational culture remotely.

Erika is a unique person, with unique qualities. With a naturally curious and ambitious mind, Erika asks the hard questions and has a forthright approach to her business. Beyond Governance does things differently.  

At Beyond Governance, Erika has crafted a remarkable corporate culture that champions talent and collaboration. She has brought together some of the best professionals in the industry with not only expertise and capabilities but also those who are personable team players, possess an upbeat disposition, maintain high ethical standards and harbour true enthusiasm for their work. Despite their clients always coming first, Erika ensures her staff are content in life as well; rewarding each of them equally through activities like networking days, invitations to awards or simply having fun at “team outings”. All members regardless of position or seniority can benefit from these unique experiences – guaranteeing everyone ultimately feels valued within the company.

Erika is dedicated to Beyond Governance’s sustainability and has worked hard to gain a B-Corp accreditation, proving that their values extend beyond words. They strive for profitability while also honouring their mission of supporting stakeholders and making decisions in the best interests of each individual client they serve. This has been shown in their twice awarded ‘Best For the World’ B-Corp award putting Beyond Governance in the top 5% for governance in the world amongst all B-Corps. 

Erika’s Road to Becoming CEO

Growing up in a working-class family with little support from her teachers, Erika was determined to make something of herself. She harnessed an incredible drive and resilience that saw her defy all expectations – exceeding her predicted GCSE results. 

Erika’s life was changed dramatically when a close family member experienced unexpected health issues, leading her to divert attention away from achieving the A-level grades she needed for Cambridge University. Rather than giving up hope entirely, Erika persevered and chose Reading University as an alternative route – where she studied Law as an undergraduate before progressing on to a Master’s in Commercial Law at Bristol University. Thanks to this dedication and hard work, Erika soon found herself training within KPMG’s Company Secretarial division; fast forward nine months later, however – after committing wholeheartedly towards impressing those around her – a promotion came knocking. Thereafter began what proved integral in propelling Erika’s already fantastic career further into uncharted success.

Erika became the youngest person in the industry to move into the highest governance and legal role in a London-based FTSE 250 organisation, Low & Bonar plc (FTSE SmallCap engineering company), at only 32 years old. This was largely due to the hands-on experience that she gained at numerous large corporations at InterContinental Hotels Group plc (FTSE 100 dual-listed in New York), Premier Foods plc (FTSE 250 food manufacturer), ICAP plc (FTSE100 financial services), and The Restaurant Group plc (FTSE 250 hospitality company).

At just 32, Erika’s ascension to a C-level position is remarkable – particularly in this challenging industry. Her experience and resilience enabled her to effectively navigate an ever-changing landscape of corporate issues: from share price collapse and external pressure group protests, through investigations into fatal incidents or fraudulent behaviour, even up the highest levels of management. In spite of these obstacles she never stopped pushing for answers; when faced with difficult questions that often had no answer it wasn’t enough for Erika who persevered until she found out all there was to know by herself.

Erika has explored the power of individuality and is unapologetically authentic as she steps into her role as CEO at Beyond Governance. Being a mother to twin girls, who are both so similar yet unique from each other, had been one of the greatest influences that encouraged her managerial skills. She aims to incorporate this valued mindset within her company by empowering employees with self-acceptance and allowing them the freedom in expressing their individualism without judgement or apology.

What do the coming years look like for Beyond Governance?

Beyond Governance is striving to empower organisations by equipping them with the knowledge they need on governance practices. This will ensure that they are up-to-date and prepared for any potential challenges ahead. There is enormous potential for governance to drive increased profits, employee retention and recruitment as well as improve the general operations of organisations. Taking what they have learnt over their combined 150 years Beyond Governance is set to change the face of corporate governance in the UK and internationally.  

Erika Eliasson-Norris, CEO of Beyond Governance, has always worked in the ‘eye of the storm’. Her career included navigating controversial board decisions, shareholder rebellions, a share price collapse to the brink of insolvency, high-profile anti-management stakeholder protests, survival-focused business division disposals, corporate manslaughter investigations, forced CEO and Chair removals, c-suite fraud investigations, FCA dawn raids, unexpected radio appearances, liquidation evading emergency finance and more. These challenging and extensive experiences afforded her the top governance and legal position in a London-based FTSE 250 organisation at the age of 32 – the youngest person in the industry to take on this c-suite-level role. Following frustrations over the lack of tailored, realistic, practical advice for c-suite Governance Professionals, Erika left her corporate career in 2019 and founded Beyond Governance.

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