Yale School of Management Launches First-of-Its-Kind Corporate Governance Director Education Program; Curriculum Embraces Need for Global Corporate Governance Improvements and Establishment of International Standards of "Best Practices"

New Haven, July 14 to 23, 2002 - International experts who teach, design, or implement corporate governance training programs worldwide are in an intensive, eight-day Corporate Governance Director Education Program, which is being sponsored by The Global Corporate Governance Forum and the International Institute of Corporate Governance (IICG) at the Yale School of Management (SOM). Leaders from the director training institutes in nine East Asian economies (China, Taipei, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia) are attending to develop a core curriculum that will promote corporate governance reform at a corporate level.

Participants of the Yale SOM Corporate Governance Director Education Program are being taught by Florencio López-de-Silanes, a leading international scholar on Corporate Governance and Comparative Institutions and the Director of the Yale SOM International Institute for Corporate Governance, and Ira M. Millstein, senior partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York City. Millstein has taught Yale MBAs "Corporate Governance" for eight years as the Eugene F. Williams, Jr. Visiting Professor in Competitive Enterprises and Strategy and serves as Chairman of the IICG. Together, they have pooled their academic and corporate expertise to design a unique executive education program focused on issues related to board roles and responsibilities, and implementation of international best practices in corporate governance.

First-of-Its-Kind Corporate Governance Director Education Program
The Corporate Governance Executive Education Program at Yale is the first-of-its-kind in that it educates the people throughout the world who, in turn, teach corporate governance or build related curricula through a highly interactive, peer-driven program. Also, it inherently recognizes that while focusing on corporate governance in the United States and in other developing economies, there is - or will be - a gradual convergence of thought as to a general system of governance or "best practices," which will sustain an investment climate sufficient to attract capital and foster growth and development.

"Different market and non-market economies take significantly different approaches to governance. The ultimate goal of this program is to understand these differences within the legal and regulatory frameworks, as well as the relationship between the private sector, government, and measurable differences in terms of governance structures," said Professor López-de-Silanes. "In every market, including the United States, the importance of the Director's role is paramount, for the basic principles of sound corporate governance encourage long-term economic growth and efficiency, while contributing to fair treatment of investors, political stability, reduction of poverty, responsible use of resources, and cooperative relationships with labor," he explained.

The Yale School of Management IICG 
The International Institute for Corporate Governance (IICG) at the Yale School of Management, created in July 2001, fills an urgent need missing in the current maelstrom surrounding the global capital market system. That need is for a credible academic center, without self-interest, to study, understand, teach, and advise all the participants in the capital market system that the role of good corporate governance is to 1.) protect, preserve, and strengthen that system, and 2.) how to adapt and implement good governance in various political and social regimes. The need for such a center has been made more evident after the U.S. scandals in corporate governance.

The Global Corporate Governance Forum
The Global Corporate Governance Forum was founded by the World Bank Group and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to promote practical reforms in corporate governance, and is now sponsored by seven donor governments, including the United States and United Kingdom. The Forum's mission is to provide assistance to developing and emerging economies on corporate governance. It has three functions: to broaden the dialogue on corporate governance; to exchange experience and good practices; to coordinate activities and identify, and fill gaps in provision of technical assistance. The Forum provides a convening venue for the leading players in governance worldwide. Its theme of partnership between the public and private sector is established through a Private Sector Advisory Group, chaired by Ira Millstein, which is comprised of internationally-recognized business leaders serving in an individual capacity.

Florencio López-de-Silanes is a Professor of Finance and Economics at the Yale School of Management and a scholar on Corporate Governance and Comparative Institutions. He is a founding member of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Corporate Governance in Russia and the Committee on Best Corporate Practices in Mexico. Professor López-de-Silanes has also been an advisor to the governments of Russia, Peru, Malaysia, Egypt, Yemen, Columbia, Costa Rica, and Mexico on issues of financial markets' regulation, corporate and bankruptcy law reform, industrial policy and privatization. Recently, he worked as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund and to The World Bank on issues of corporate governance. He received Harvard's Wells Prize for the Best Dissertation in Economics (1995), the National Award of Law and Economics of the National Association of Law and Economics in Mexico (1996), the Brattle Prize for distinguished paper in the Journal of Finance of the American Finance Association (1999), and the Jensen Prize for the best papers published in the Journal of Financial Economics in the areas of Corporate Finance and Organizations (2000).

Ira M. Millstein is the Eugene F. Williams, Jr. Visiting Professor in Competitive Enterprise and Strategy at the Yale School of Management where he teaches "Corporate Governance" with Professor Paul W. MacAvoy and serves as an Advisory Board member. He is senior partner in the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City and a leading expert on antitrust, government regulation, and corporate governance matters. Professor Millstein has authored books and numerous articles in his areas of expertise. He has served on commissions under Presidents Nixon and Carter, and under New York's Governor Cuomo, and is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He most recently co-chaired the NYSE/NASDAQ/SEC sponsored Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Committees, and currently serves as Counsel to the Board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation charged with developing the World Trade Center site and surrounding areas. He serves on the newly-formed board of "The Yale SOM - Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures." He chairs the Private Sector Advisory Group of The World Bank/OECD Global Corporate Governance Forum.

Note to Media: The Yale SOM Corporate Governance Executive Education Program is "off-the-record." For an interview with Professors López-de-Silanes or Millstein, contact Yale SOM Media Relations at 203-432-6010
The Global Corporate Governance Forum's donors and founders include the governments of Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, the World Bank Group, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.