Converge ICT Solutions Inc. sustained its outstanding corporate governance practice, receiving the Three Golden Arrow Award at the 2024 Golden Arrow Awards held at Marriott Manila recently. .
Presented by the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) annually, the Golden Arrow Awards range from 1-Arrow Recognition up to Five-Arrow recognition and are based on the company’s rating on the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS).
The ACGS measures companies’ corporate governance performance in the areas of facilitating the rights and the equitable treatment of shareholders, how they relate to their different stakeholders, ensuring transparency and accountability through timely disclosure of material information, and how the board guides the company strategically, monitors the management, and ensures the board’s accountability to the company and the shareholders.
“We continue to strive to improve our Corporate Governance rating in all areas of governance, allowing Converge to steadily underscore matters that we can improve on, amid the policy and business environment we have today,” said Atty. Laurice Esteban-Tuason SVP and Corporate Compliance and Data Protection Officer
As a publicly-listed company, we remain responsive and adaptive to the changing times. Moving forward, we intend to strengthen and sharpen our internal Governance, Risk, and Compliance framework, Internal Controls framework, and our Sustainability framework while, at the same time, continuing to make improvements in the ESG and sustainability landscapes,” added Atty. Esteban-Tuason.
In the period under review, Converge made strides to strengthen its corporate governance policies and practices; the company reported zero incidents of customer data breaches for 2023, exhibiting the robust oversight and control of its Data Privacy and Corporate Governance teams.
The company implements a continuing education program for its Board of Directors ensuring they stay informed and updated on business and regulatory developments. The directors undertook the mandatory Corporate Governance Training, focusing on technology governance, cybersecurity, and socioeconomic trends.
Moreover, for the company’s highest level of decision-making to get an in-depth understanding of the emerging solutions and technologies in the field of ICT, the Board took an immersive training in South Korea in June 2024. The Converge Board of Directors heard from pioneering leaders in the Korean telecommunications and ICT space – Naver Cloud, LG CNS, and KT Corp. (formerly Korea Telecom) – on how they developed the digital landscape in the Republic of Korea.
Significantly, the Corporate Governance team of Converge strengthened its Whistleblowing Policy, by including human rights as one of its guiding principles. This policy empowers employees to report misconduct or wrongdoing without fear of retaliation through an accessible online platform, promoting transparency and integrity throughout the organization.
