“We recognised at the outset that we needed to better align our goals and message to more accurately reflect the evolution of who we have become, what our members do and who we represent. It was not just about changing the name or logo, but of reflecting the impact on our members from governance responsibilities now cascading through organisations,” says Tim Sheehy, CEO, Governance Institute.

“We undertook an extensive process involving membership and stakeholder research to ensure we had a thorough insight into the changing fabric of the organisation to identify how this could best be articulated.”

At present, only 14 per cent of the Governance Institute’s membership is dedicated solely to company secretarial practice, while 57 per cent hold broader positions including those in senior management, legal practitioners and directors as well as finance and accounting professionals and risk managers, all of whom practise governance within their roles. This dramatic shift in the membership profile is also reflected in the Governance Institute’s education, training and advocacy offerings which cover a broad range of regulatory reforms.

The rebranding will be completed by February 2014.