Juncture Dialogue: The Cosy Corporate Club

Recent commentary has painted a provocative picture of corporate New Zealand: a small and comfortable club of professional directors, where the same names circulate around boardroom tables. In a small and interconnected business community, challenging the consensus may come at a personal and professional cost. But is New Zealand’s corporate governance culture really too cosy? And if it is, does it matter?

This Juncture Dialogue asks whether our boardrooms have the right people, incentives, and appetite for challenge: Who gets a seat at the table – and who doesn’t? Are boards sufficiently accountable when companies underperform? Does directors’ liability encourage excessive caution? And would greater diversity, shareholder activism, and scrutiny produce better governance? More fundamentally, if corporations are institutions that shape the future of capitalism, what kind of governance – and what kind of directors – does that require?

Join us as we put the boardroom itself under scrutiny and ask whether corporate governance culture shapes not only New Zealand's economic performance, but who benefits from it, and whose interests corporations ultimately serve.

Event details

Date: Thursday 22 October 2026

Time: 5.30-7.30pm, including networking

Venue: Sir Owen G Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road, Auckland CBD