Jean-Claude Trichet will head advisory group on setting up a global board for sustainability-related company disclosures

Source: IFRS Foundation, 7 June 2021

The IFRS Foundation Trustees have today announced the establishment of an Eminent Persons Group, chaired by Jean-Claude Trichet, to provide strategic advice and counsel to the Trustees on the proposed formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board and its connectivity with jurisdictional initiatives. 

The Eminent Persons Group membership is:

  • Chair: Jean-Claude Trichet, former President of the European Central Bank;
  • Sheila Bair, former Chair of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
  • Nandan Nilekani, Chair and co-founder of Infosys;
  • Guillermo Ortiz, former Governor of Banco de Mexico; former Chair of the Bank of International Settlements; and
  • Min Zhu, former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

The Eminent Persons Group has held its first meeting and will have regular engagement with the Trustees. Its work complements other working groups and committees established by the Trustees to support their work to determine the IFRS Foundation’s role in sustainability-related financial disclosures:

Group Remit
Trustees’ Steering Committee
(Chair: Lucrezia Reichlin)
Strategic direction and project oversight, makes recommendations on key decisions for endorsement by all Trustees
Eminent Persons Group
(Chair: Jean-Claude Trichet)
Strategic advice and counsel to the Trustees
Technical Readiness Working Group
(Chair: Michel Madelain)
Technical working group aimed at providing the International Sustainability Standards Board with a ‘running start’ (update on its work due to be published later this week)
Multilateral Working Group
(Chair: Suresh Kana)
Preparatory work for building-blocks approach, facilitating interaction with other international/jurisdictional initiatives

In addition to the formation of the Eminent Persons Group, the Trustees have also:

Trustees encourage stakeholders to respond to the consultation on proposed amendments to the Foundation’s Constitution, which sets out the institutional arrangements to accommodate the formation of the proposed new board within the governance structure of the organisation. The consultation period closes on 29 July 2021.