News Releases

Hay Group Limited Signs Sponsorship Agreement with The Directors College

TORONTO, April 7, 2005 – The Directors College* and Hay Group Limited today announced the signing of a national program sponsorship agreement. Under the agreement, Hay Group will provide exclusive content in the area of board assessment and organizational effectiveness for the College’s director education modules, and serve as faculty and advisors.

The Directors College, a joint venture of The Conference Board of Canada and the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, is Canada’s first and only director certification program leading to the Chartered Director (C. Dir.)* designation. As Canada’s gold standard in director education, The Directors College program addresses the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to be an effective board member, with the highest professional standards.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hay Group to The Directors College,” says Anne Golden, President and CEO of The Conference Board of Canada. “They bring over forty years of experience working with boards, and specific expertise in the critical areas of board compensation and board assessment.”

“Hay Group’s leading edge approach to the area of board assessment and development moves beyond the standard foundational issues,” says Dr. Chris Bart, Principal and Lead Professor at The Directors College. “Their assessments clearly focus on all the elements that create a high performing board: people, processes and board composition, and they are then able to create specific, actionable development plans.”

“Our relationship with The Directors College was an easy and logical decision,” says Chris Matthews, Chairman, Hay Group. “Our expertise is ensuring that the ‘right’ people are in the ‘right’ roles, focused on the ‘right’ activities, and working together in the ‘right’ way. What place is more critical to ensure the fit than at the top of the organization? Gone are the days where a marquee name was the sole requirement to be a director. There is new interest in ensuring that all directors have the right knowledge, skills, and competencies to be able to truly exercise due diligence, and that the processes are in place to allow for it. Holding up a mirror to the board, with a clear development plan to address gaps is a very powerful tool.“

Other national sponsors of The Directors College are The TSX Group, Ernst & Young and the Society of Management Accountants of Canada (CMA Canada). Program sponsors are McCarthy Tétrault, NATIONAL Investor Relations, HKMB International Insurance Brokers and The Caldwell Partners International.

For further information contact:

Dr. Andrea Plotnick, Hay Group, at 416-815-6359 (andrea_plotnick@haygroup.com)

Brent Dowdall, The Conference Board of Canada, at 613-526-3090 ext. 448 (dowdall@conferenceboard.ca) or
David Brown, The Conference Board of Canada, at 613-226-3216 (brown@conferenceboard.ca)

*"The Directors College", "C.Dir.", and "Chartered Director" are Official Marks of McMaster University

About The Directors College
The Directors College is a joint venture of The Conference Board of Canada and the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. The Directors College is a comprehensive professional development and certification program for corporate directors. It is the only program of its kind in Canada that leads to formal university accreditation - the "Chartered Director*" designation (C.Dir.*).

About Hay Group
The Hay Group is one of Canada’s leading professional services firms specializing in people and performance. We pride ourselves on being an expertise-driven firm. For years, Hay Group’s work has been grounded in a deep and complementary understanding of both work and people. Supported by proven methodologies and global knowledge, Hay Group is unparalleled in delivering unique insight into what enables people to perform successfully.

About The Conference Board of Canada
The Conference Board of Canada is the foremost independent, not-for-profit applied research organization in Canada. We help build leadership capacity for a better Canada by creating and sharing insights on economic trends, public policy issues, and organizational performance. Our members include a broad range of Canadian organizations from the public and private sectors. The Conference Board of Canada has an annual budget of $30 million, with 200 staff located in Ottawa, and offices in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Toronto.

About McMaster University
McMaster University, one of Canada's top three research-intensive universities, has world-renowned faculty and state-of-the-art research facilities. McMaster's culture of innovation fosters a commitment to discovery and learning in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University has a student population of more than 20,000 and more than 108,000 alumni in more than 125 countries around the world. McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business is one of the leading business schools in Canada and internationally.

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