Founded in 2005, the Institute of Directors in Luxembourg (ILA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing corporate governance. With over 3,000 members, ILA is a vital hub for governance professionals in Luxembourg, providing training, networking opportunities, and thought leadership to meet evolving industry needs.
Can you describe your association in a few words?
ILA is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2005. As the Institute of Directors in Luxembourg, ILA promotes and informs on practices in the field of Corporate Governance. ILA is the first interlocutor on Corporate Governance in Luxembourg and therefore is instrumental in the determination and the promotion of good and sustainable Corporate Governance.
ILA’s mission is to support all directors and governance professionals, be the governance arm to all industries in the Luxembourg eco-system and enhance the application of best governance practices. ILA provides trainings on practices in terms of sustainable Corporate Governance and any relevant topics, as well as supports the networking of directors and governance professionals, and issues recommendations and clear views on Corporate Governance topics.
Counting today more than 3000 members, our main objective is to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities their respective boards will be facing in the near future by providing them with education, thought leadership and sharing of practices on topics related to Corporate Governance.
How are your members’ expectations changing and how are you adapting to them?
The members of our association have different profiles and are not only directors. Our members also include corporate governance officers, C-level functions, companies of various sizes and from different business sectors, and NGOs. This means that their expectations are different and constantly evolving.
That’s why we offer a wide range of training courses, both sector-specific and thematic; last year we launched a certification course for directors working in investment funds, which has been a great success. We also offer training in the fields of digitalisation and ESG, which are issues of concern to many directors.
We organise various events throughout the year, including our flagship Directors’ Day on 16 November this year. These events enable our members to network and hear presentations on topical issues. They also enable our sponsors to meet our members.
We also keep abreast of all the regulatory developments that affect our members. In this context, we met the Finance Minister on 8 September to discuss with her, amongst other, the VAT issue for directors and we also regularly meet the CSSF.
“This means that their expectations are different and constantly evolving.”
What is your association’s vision for the next 5 years?
Our main objective is the promotion of best governance and the satisfaction of our members. We have 4 main areas of development that we wish to pursue:
– ongoing training for our members: we want to continue to offer them high-quality training that is relevant to the Luxembourg market and includes all current regulatory and topical developments.
– certification of directors and corporate governance officers: ILA currently offers general certification and sector-specific certification for its directors (investment funds) and we want to continue to develop more sector-specific certifications.
– organising more networking events covering topics of current interest.
– developing ILA’s interactions with other associations (ALFI, ABBL, LPEA, LFF, ALRIM, ALCO, LBAN etc.), with regulators (CSSF and CAA) and with the various ministries and administrations.
Finally, my personal goal is to double the number of members within 5 years and to position ILA as Europe’s leading governance organisation.
