Entry guidelines
Before starting your nominations, please carefully read the entry guidelines below.
Key dates for 2026
| Open for entries | April |
| Extended entry deadline | 11.59 pm (ET) on Friday, July 31 |
| Shortlisted companies are contacted | Early September |
| Shortlists announced publicly | Thursday, October 8 |
| Awards ceremony and winners revealed | Thursday, November 5 |
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.
*Recognizing that technology is now embedded across governance teams of every size, this year we’ve broadened the category for best use of technology to welcome nominations from both publicly listed and private companies
What are the categories?
- Best AGM
- Best board assessment program
- Best compliance and ethics program
- Best director training and education program
- Best global entity management
- Best governance around a corporate transaction
- Best proxy statement (small cap)
- Best proxy statement (mid-cap)
- Best proxy statement (large cap)
- Best shareholder engagement (small to mid-cap)
- Best shareholder engagement (large cap)
- Best sustainability reporting (small cap)
- Best sustainability reporting (mid-cap)
- Best sustainability reporting (large cap)
- Best use of technology*
- Governance professional of the year (small to mid-cap)
- Governance professional of the year (large cap)
- Governance team of the year (small to mid-cap)
- Governance team of the year (large cap)
- Rising star
Final list of categories is subject to change.
Market cap definition
- Micro cap = below US$300 mn
- Small cap = between US$300 mn – US$2 bn
- Mid-cap = between US$2 bn – US$20 bn
- Large cap = between US$20 bn – US$200 bn
- Mega cap = US$200 bn and over
Full details of the category descriptions can be viewed by clicking here.
*Recognizing that technology is now embedded across governance teams of every size, this year we’ve broadened the category to welcome nominations from both publicly listed and private companies
What are the entry requirements?
Entrants will be asked to complete three mandatory parts of the form and there will be an opportunity to add supporting documents, where relevant:
- For company nominations:
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- Context and governance challenge* (300 words max.): In this section explain your organizational context, the governance issue, risk or opportunity you identified and why it was significant enough to require board-level attention and action.Avoid long corporate histories, generic industry commentary or describing activities without clearly identifying the specific governance challenge being addressed.
- Governance approach and implementation* (300 words max.): This section should be used to describe how the board and management addressed the issue in practice, including governance structures, decision-making, oversight, accountability and how the approach was implemented and monitored.It should not include policy descriptions with no evidence of application, operational detail without governance context or lists of actions that do not explain board or committee involvement.
- Outcomes, impact and learning* (300 words max.): This section should be used to set out the outcomes achieved, how effectiveness was measured, the impact on governance, performance, risk or culture, and the key lessons that have strengthened your organization’s governance capability.Try not to include unsupported claims of success, purely anecdotal outcomes or focusing only on activity completion rather than demonstrable impact and learning.
- For individual nominations:
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- Role context and governance challenge* (300 words max.): In this section explain the nominee’s role, governance responsibilities and organizational context. Identify the key governance challenge, risk or opportunity they personally addressed or influenced during the award period.Avoid providing a full resume, job description or general overview of the organization without clearly identifying the governance challenge and the nominee’s personal accountability.
- Leadership, judgement and governance in practice* (300 words max.): This section should demonstrate how the nominee exercised leadership, independence and professional judgement to strengthen governance in practice, including how they advised, challenged or influenced decision-making.It should not be a list of activities without explaining decision-making or impact, claiming team achievements without clarifying the nominee’s role or focusing solely on technical delivery.
- Outcomes, impact and professional contribution* (300 words max.): This section should set out the impact achieved as a result of the nominee’s actions, how success was evidenced and how their contribution has strengthened governance capability within the organization and, where relevant, the profession.Try not to include any unsupported claims, personal traits without evidence or outcomes that cannot reasonably be linked to the nominee’s actions.
- Supporting materials: Submit up to three supporting materials with your written entry, although this is not mandatory. Documents should be relevant to the nominated category and referred to within the previous sections.Please do not upload your full entry as a supporting document. All submissions must be completed within the three sections of the main entry form in line with the stated word limits. Entries submitted solely as supporting documents, without completing these sections, will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed by the judging panel.
Please note: all submissions must relate to work carried out in the period July 2025 – July 2026.
*Mandatory sections
FAQs
How much does it cost to enter?
For 2026, 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.
Please do not upload your full entry as a supporting document. All submissions must be completed within the three sections of the main entry form in line with the stated word limits. Entries submitted solely as supporting documents, without completing these sections, will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed by the judging panel.
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 Governance Intelligence editorial team reviews all submissions and produces the shortlists
- Phase two: The shortlisted entries are shared with an independent judging panel made up of industry experts. The judges review each shortlisted entry based on four criteria scoring each criterion on a scale from 1 to 5. The scores for all four criteria are then summed to produce a total score for each entry per judge.
- 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.
Will my entry be shared with anyone else apart from the Governance Intelligence team or 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 shortlist?
We will inform shortlisted companies and individuals at the beginning of September.
I have a question that is not answered here. Who do I contact?
You can contact Lauren Wilson, head of operations, by email at [email protected] or call +44 20 8004 5339.
I’m interested in becoming a partner for this event. Who do I contact?
You can contact Ian Richman, president, by email at [email protected] or call +1 212 430 6865.
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!