Entry guidelines
Before starting your nominations, please carefully read the entry guidelines below.
Key dates for 2023
| Open for entries | April |
| Extended entry deadline | Midnight (ET) on Friday, August 4 |
| Shortlisted companies are contacted | September onwards |
| Short lists announced publicly | Wednesday, October 11 |
| Awards ceremony and winners revealed | Wednesday, November 8 |
Who can nominate and be nominated?
Corporate secretaries, general counsel, governance officers and compliance officers at any company publicly listed and domiciled in the US can be nominated.
Entries can be submitted directly by an individual or company nominating itself, or by an outside law firm, vendor or service provider on behalf of a nominee.
There are no restrictions on the number of categories a company can be nominated for.
What are the categories?
- Best AGM
- Best board assessment program *NEW*
- Best compliance and ethics program
- Best director training and education program *NEW*
- Best ESG reporting (large cap)
- Best ESG reporting (small to mid-cap)
- Best global entity management
- Best governance around a corporate transaction
- Best proxy statement (large cap)
- Best proxy statement (mid-cap)
- Best proxy statement (small cap)
- Best shareholder engagement (large cap)
- Best Shareholder engagement (small to mid-cap)
- Best use of technology
- Outstanding work by an independent director *NEW*
- Governance professional of the year (large cap)
- Governance professional of the year (small to mid-cap)
- Governance team of the year (large cap)
- Governance team of the year (small to mid-cap)
- Rising star
Market cap definition
- Small cap = below US$2 bn
- Mid-cap = between US$2 bn – US$20 bn
- Large cap = US$20 bn and over
Full details of the category descriptions can be viewed by clicking here.
What are the entry requirements?
All work submitted must have been undertaken within the US or, in the case of overseas work, have been initiated or coordinated in the US.
The judges will be looking for demonstrable quantitative and qualitative results. Please submit all entries according to the following format:
- Executive summary
The executive summary should showcase the nomination as this is the section that the judges will pay the most attention to.
This may include:- a brief outline of the reasons the individual/team/company should be considered
- a summary of the activities the nominee has undertaken
- descriptions of the relevant circumstances, objectives, outcomes and timeframes
- other elements – such as cost-effectiveness, impact on company, share price effects, involvement of outside vendors or consultants and creativity of approach – are optional
- Supporting documents
This may include:- names and contacts of the decision-makers and governance leaders who can comment on a nominee’s governance best practices (that is, proxy decision-makers, community stakeholders, and so on)
- links to pertinent web pages or an expanded list of a nominees’ achievements. We recommend that you keep this to a maximum of four pages
- you may also upload or provide links to supporting documents such as memos, white papers, proxy statements, annual reports or ESG reports – particularly if they directly relate to the category you’re nominating in
Please note: all submissions must relate to work carried out in the period July 2022 to July 2023.
FAQs
How much does it cost to enter?
For 2023, the awards are free to enter.
Can I start my entry online and finish it at a later date?
Yes you can. Our nomination form allows submitters to save their entry as a draft and add to it at a later date.
Can I amend my entry once I have clicked submit?
No, entries cannot be amended once they have been submitted for the judges review.
What supporting documents are allowed?
We can accept most file types via the nomination form. If you have any issues uploading a file, please email it to [email protected].
There is no limit or word count for supporting documents, but please avoid including superfluous documents if they are not relevant to the entry. Remember it is quality and relevance that matter.
Can I hyperlink text in the entry form?
No, the entry form does not allow for text to be hyperlinked. However, there is space in the supporting documents section to add links that support your nomination.
How will my entry be judged?
The judging process is made up of three simple phases:
- Phase one: Once the entry deadline has passed, the Corporate Secretary editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the short lists
- Phase two: The short-listed entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each short-listed entry and select their top two picks per category
- Phase three: The judges come together to discuss, debate and select the final list of winners who will go on to win an award
The judges’ votes are not made public, but their comments may be published in articles or reports after the event. Judges are not required to make comments against every submission.
Will my entry be shared with anyone else apart from the Corporate Secretary team and the judging panel?
Information from your entry (including any files you upload) may be made public after the awards to substantiate your nomination. If you do not wish for your entry to be shared in this way then you should mark it as confidential. There will be an opportunity to do this on the entry form.
When will I know if my entry has made the short list?
We will inform short-listed companies and individuals via email from September onwards.
I have a question that is not answered here. Who do I contact?
You can contact Lauren Wilson, head of event operations, by email at [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 5339.
I have all of the information I need, how do I start my entry?
Click here to go to the entry form and follow the instructions to start the process.
Good luck!