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IOD Special Talk - Beyond Governance - Boards Building Legacy & Conviviality
It is a privilege to address this distinguished gathering today at the Annual Directors' Conclave of the Institute of Directors, India.
I am truly honored to be standing here amongst visionary professionals, the leaders who not only manage, 'what is' but also manage 'what can be'.
The theme, 'Shaping Tomorrow's Boards: The Competitive Edge,' is not just relevant but urgent as well.
Over the years, in my role as an executive board member of Pernod Ricard, I have had the privilege and the responsibility of navigating the delicate intersections between strategy, governance, policy and public sentiments, and I have seen a shift. I remember being in a boardroom discussion a few years ago when ESG was still considered as a 'Good to have'. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) were bullet points in slides, and stakeholder engagement was viewed mostly as a way of risk mitigation. But today those very elements have moved from the margins to the mandate. Because we are no longer in an India, where shareholder values alone define success. We live in a time of hyper-transparency. One tweet, one whistleblower, one community protest can unspun decades of brand equity.
We are operating in an environment shaped by stakeholder capitalism, geopolitical influx and generational shift in expectations. In such a world, boards can no longer afford to be passive, or performative. They must be proactive, diverse in thought, and anchored in purpose. The questions we need to ask are hard ones.
• Are we just reacting to change, or are we anticipating it?
• Are we truly future-fit, or merely present stable?
• Are we creating value at the cost of values?
At Pernod Ricard, we like to say that we are creators of conviviality.
But, let me share a quick anecdote. Almost a decade ago, during a community visit at a small town where we operate, a local farmer said to me: “You talk about conviviality, but for us, good times mean clean water, access to education and knowing that our land will sustain the next generations.”
We have since evolved from what we meant by good times in our sustainability road map.
Good Times or a Good Place, for us now is not just a CSR initiative, but, about building long term resilience, that embeds in it circular making into the very DNA of our operations. Because today the most competitive organisations are governed by boards that champion ESG not as a reporting metric but as a heartbeat of business strategy. Engage with policy and public affairs not as a gatekeeper but as a bridge to trust and legitimacy. Foster diversity not just in gender and ethnicity but also in thinking style, ethics, and lived experience. Shape culture from the top, because culture is not what you write from the top, but what you tolerate in annual meetings.
So, what must boards be today? Boards must be three things:
1. Agile, because disruption, whether from Gen AI or climate shifts, does not knock, but it crushes in.
2. Accountable, because in a world of radical transparency, public trust is no longer a soft metric; it is a real currency of competitive advantage
3. A tune to the voice, that matters to customers, communities, regulators and even critics. Especially critics, because sometimes those voices are holding a mirror to what we refuse to see.
Let me leave you with this:
When I look at the future of the board, I do not see strategy charts and profit & loss sheets; I see a young professional entering his or her first boardroom one day. Looking around and seeing faces that reflect the dreams, the values, and the voices. I see a farmer whose land is protected because a company chose sustainability over shortcuts. I see a whistleblower who is heard and not hushed. Because Boards are not just about Governance but about Legacy.
We live in a time of hypertransparency. One tweet, one whistleblower, one community protest can unspun decades of brand equity.
The true 'Competitive Edge' is not about 'market share' but about 'mindset'.
If you want to shape tomorrow's boards, we must be able to shape today's boardroom dialogues.
Let's ask ourselves, are we listening deeply enough to our emerging voices, are we bold enough to challenge the legacy assumptions, are we investing in board capability with the same rigor with which we invest in innovations?
Because as directors and leaders, we do not just govern companies, but we also influence economies, societies, and generations. Let's make the future not just profitable but principled, not just competitive but compassionate, not just sustainable but transformational.
Thank you!
Jai Hind!
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Mr. Prasanna Mohile
Executive Board Member & National Head, Pernod Ricard India
Owned by: Institute of Directors, India
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the articles/ stories are the personal opinions of the author. IOD/ Editor is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in those articles. The information, facts or opinions expressed in the articles/ speeches do not reflect the views of IOD/ Editor and IOD/ Editor does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
