The past two years have seen independent directors resigning from companies citing reasons such as inability to conduct their duties properly due to management not providing them with sufficient information. Personal-related reasons are still commonly cited for resignations and there have been cases of independent directors being removed at general meetings by substantial shareholders.

The Centre and the Business Times held a roundtable discussion titled "Should I Stay or Should I Go" on 5 August 2009 at the Shangri-La Hotel, focusing on resignations of independent directors. Some of the issues discussed at the event were: Under what circumstances should independent directors consider resigning? Do some independent directors resign too readily and are they breaching their duties to the company? How do we improve the transparency of the reasons for resignations? Are there legal risks for independent directors who resign noisily? Should independent directors resign or subject themselves to removal at the general meeting?

Participation at the roundtable was by invitation-only and was attended by independent directors, auditors, legal advisers, investors, academics and other senior industry professionals.

Click here to view BT's announcement regarding the roundtable

Click here to view media reports on a study on director resignations conducted by the Centre 

Click here to view media reports of the event