The Director of the Year Awards is an event designed to celebrate and honor some of our area’s most engaged and effective board leaders who exemplify knowledge, leadership and excellence in corporate governance. The event brings together corporate directors, CEOs, executives and professionals to celebrate the leadership of all of your director peers and see the extraordinary actions taken by this year’s award recipients. The event will be a luncheon held in late June at The Grand America Hotel.

The event is presented by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Utah Chapter and Utah Business magazine. The NACD and its regional chapters promote high professional standards for board and director conduct, practice and performance, create forums for peer interaction, enhance director effectiveness, asset the policy interests of directors, conduct research, and educate boards and directors concerning traditional and cutting-edge issues.  Utah Business is Utah’s leading statewide source for business news and information. It aims to always provide the best quality news and information to readers in both print and digital formats and through informative events. Utah Business is also committed to recognizing leaders across all industries through a variety of premiere award events

Director of the Year Nomination Process

The NACD Utah Chapter and Utah Business invite you to submit nominations for its 2017 Director of the Year Awards event.  Awards will be presented to directors of the year in four categories:

Large Public Company

Small Public Company

Private Company

Nonprofit Organization

The awards honor those directors that promote good corporate governance while guiding those companies to develop strategies, enhance performance and mitigate risk.

Awardees will be recognized for outstanding board service, contributions and leadership.  Director should be recognized by peers as a role model in promoting high professional standards for board and director performance.

How to Nominate a Director

Please submit a letter of recommendation electronically, via email, to Heather May, [email protected]. Please include the name of the nominee and the award for which you are nominating the individual in the subject line of the email. Nominations must be received no later than March 3, 2017.

Your letter of recommendation must include information regarding the following:

1. The name or names of the organization(s) for which the nominee has served and for which you are nominating him/her. Include positons served within each board.
2. How the nominee demonstrates adherence to NACD’s Standards of Director Professionalism:
3. Integrity – Demonstrate the highest ethical standards on both a personal and professional level; promote the company’s vision and values; demonstrate candor, fairness and openness to other opinions; exhibit courage and leadership, doing what is best for the corporation in the face of pressures inside and outside the boardroom.
4. Confidence – value board and team performance over his/her individual performance; facilitate superior board performance, bringing out the best in peer directors; form constructive working relationships and collaborate with an independent attitude; participate in the development of future leaders.
5. Informed Judgment – Provide wise, thoughtful counsel on a broad range of issues; demonstrate judgment and discretion that is trusted by peers; have a track record for actions which have guided a company in maintaining or improving long-term success, pursuing business opportunities, and/or dealing effectively with crisis or other major change.
6. High Performance Standards – Have a history of achievements that reflect high standards for themselves and others; devote time to the job, both inside and outside the boardroom, demonstrating preparation and participation; foster an environment of improvement of strategic goals, performance and innovation; demonstrate a focus on creating and balancing values for customers, employees, the community, shareholders and other stakeholders.
7. Explanation of why you are nominating the director and why you feel he/she deserves recognition for the Director of the Year Award.

Incomplete letters of recommendation will not be considered.  Please submit electronically, via email, to [email protected].  Please include the name of the nominee and the award for which you are nominating the individual in the subject line of the email. Nominations must be received no later than March 3, 2017.

Questions?  Contact Heather May with NACD Utah, [email protected] or Heather Stewart with Utah Business magazine, [email protected].