Ep.11: Professor Shirley Zinn on Board Governance
Channel: HSCF
Date: 2021-04-13

#SmartCity  #CityCouncil  #Municipality  A Harvard PhD with the highest governance experience on the African continent, Professor Shirley Zinn is in the 1% of Africa's governance experts.  She has served on boards and councils of the South African Government, Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed multi-national corporations, non-profits entities and the University of Cape Town.  Having grown up and worked in South Africa's most influential cities, Professor Zinn's insights are not only local and regional but also global as some large value chains and supply chains in global trade originate from South Africa.  Her opening statements stress the need for equitable policies and the establishment of strong values.  Tieho remarks at Shirley's deep and cross-domain board experiences as well as her living in different major cities.  He inquires on whether this interplay has had any notable effect on her views as a leader.  The answer is very transformational with light being shed on the need for more cohesion in governance systems.  Prof. Zinn suggests that common purpose between government at all levels from national to local could help break down the inefficient silos of government.  She also mentions how some of the value she adds to the boards of telecommunications and insurance companies comes from her not-for-profit experience.  These lessons along with the values and integrity taught to her by her parents (and teachers) are the pillars that supported her decision making from high school up to today.  Her closing remarks are centered around the need for governments and corporations to invest in the rights analytics tools that will allow them to uncover insights that enable them to contribute meaningfully to society.  Governments particularly need to build collaborative open platforms that engage citizens in key decision making.