MG100 Spotlight: Renerose Tan Ng, Board Secretary and Governance & Compliance Advisor, ICRISAT

12/06/2020
Lena Eisenstein
Renerose Tan Ng, Board Secretary and Governance & Compliance Advisor at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), is'''being recognized by'''Diligent's'''Modern Governance 100 program.'''The'''Modern Governance 100 is'''a community of governance professionals who have been nominated for their innovation, resilience, dedication and empathy in the face of a complex and ever-changing world. Adaptability in uncertain times is critical, as Renerose Tan Ng well knows. She recognizes the dynamic and volatile nature of the business environment ICRISAT operates in, and she understands that governance practices must adapt to meet the moment. ''I personally believe that to be able to fully realize the potential of a governance body, we should be able to adapt to changing demands and culture,'' Tan Ng explains. To that end, Tan Ng spearheaded ICRISAT's move from paper-bound, manual processes to a more efficient way of conducting board business, ensuring no board members got left behind. Migrating to Diligent Boards was one of Renerose Tan Ng's greatest accomplishments in enabling ICRISAT's board to modernize their governance. ''It took her about 2-3 months to encourage a board that is naturally not too tech-savvy to migrate to Diligent Boards,'' explains nominator Paco Sereme, former Governing Board Chair at ICRISAT, ''but she never gave up and it became one of our success stories of adapting to change.'' The timing of Tan Ng's initiative was impeccable, allowing ICRISAT's board to continue holding meetings after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. ''It's a sigh of relief to know that our board business need not to be hampered by restrictions of face-to-face meetings due to the global pandemic this year. One small success can go a long way,'' Sereme notes. How Tan Ng Uses Diligent
  • To easily access board materials and information anytime, anywhere, while maintaining strong document version control
  • For business continuity within any environment, whether in person or remote
  • For robust security measures and risk mitigation in handling confidential files across different areas of the business
''It has'''been very rewarding'''for my'''organization'''to be fully equipped with what they need to effectively make decisions while facing challenges in meeting face-to-face,'''competing priorities,'''and also'''unforeseen disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic,'' Tan Ng says. The impact of digitizing governance has been felt across the organization, and Tan Ng applauds her colleagues who have been supportive and willing to embrace Diligent Boards to elevate and enhance the company's operations and performance. ''I am'''grateful that the power of inclusive decision-making'''has become evident in the process of modernizing the way we do governance,'' remarks Tan Ng, ''and I can say'''it's'''a success of the whole'''organization, not just of'''one person.'' About the Nominee In her career in governance and compliance for over eight years, Renerose has worked with boards of directors of more than 15'''private corporations and specialized in corporate and statutory compliance, KYC and risk. She moved to India in 2016 to be Board Secretary for the International'''Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a member of the CGIAR System Organization. There she expanded her role in governance and compliance as well as provided support in the organization's transition process toward unified'''governance. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Consular and Diplomatic Affairs at De La Salle College of St.'''Benilde'''School of'''Diplomacy and Governance. About ICRISAT The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world. Covering 6.5 million square kilometers of land in 55 countries, the semi-arid or dryland tropics has over 2 billion people, with 644 million severely impoverished. ICRISAT and its partners help empower the severely poor overcome poverty, hunger and a degraded environment through better agriculture. ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, with two regional hubs and six country offices in sub-Saharan Africa.
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