EBnet.Stream Industry Insights: Joelene Moodley, Independent Principal Officer
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What is the purpose of this Industry Insights episode with Joelene Moodley?
Ethical are words that we'd expect of all trustees, not just independent trustees. So are we saying that the role of all trustees is elevated?
I think consolidation is a strategy, but we have now faced with changes in the global economy. We've seen shifts in legislation. We've seen more accountability that asks yourself as a trustee, what am I here to do? As a principal officer, what am I here to do?
Not sure that the trustee who is also fulfilling other organizational or operational roles has enough time to commit.
Hi, everybody, and welcome back to EBNET Stream for today's episode of Industry Insights. I've invited Jolene Mudley, who is an independent professional trustee and principal officer, to join us on today's episode to discuss an article that she wrote for the 2026 Sunlum Benchmark Survey. So welcome to EBNET Stream, Jolene.
Thank you so much, Natalie, if Really excited about the opportunity and thank you so much to Ibinad for the privilege to just discuss this topic further.
So without any formal or further ado or delay, what are we going to talk about today? And I'm going to kind of lay the foundation and the groundwork. The article you wrote was on independence of trustees and independence of thinking and decision making in these trustee boards. And if I look back and I reflect on the conversation in this industry over the past while, independence is used in so many different ways. So my first question really is, are we fooling ourselves when it comes to this unicorn of an independent trustee? And what are your thoughts around that?
it's a very important question that you raise. And I just want to also say that, you know, I prepared for this discussion today. So I do have some notes that I will just reflect on. But the issue around independence, I think, you know, it's become a bare, it's become an issue, become a minimum expectation that we all expect. We expect our trustees to be independent, irrespective of, you know, who appointed them But as the discussion is moving along, you know, we now are looking at ethical leadership. It does not mean that independence is less important. So don't get me wrong. In the boards that I have served, independence has always been the foundation of good governance because our trustees carry a fiduciary role, you know, and it comes back to that role is irrespective of whether they were appointed by their employer or appointed by their
the members, because ultimately you are there to protect member interests. But so for me, independence is not the destination, but rather the starting point. You know, we would be fooling ourselves if we feel that this independence tick box, you know, the box has been ticked simply because if you look that there are independent trustees on a board or they have all the governance policies in place.
How is 'independence' defined and why might the independent trustee be a 'unicorn'?
The real question for me is whether independence is visible in the decisions that the boards take or are made. Are conflicts managed properly? Are service providers held accountable and members treated fairly? And that's where ethical leadership comes in because it asks trustees to exercise that independent judgment. and ask the difficult questions to challenge dominant voices. I mean, we experience it all the time. I believe that the real question is whether independence is visible in terms of how decisions are made, conflicts are managed, service providers held accountable, and members treated fairly. So the discussion for me has moved beyond independence rather to ethical leadership, And asking ourselves as trustees, are we exercising independent judgment?
Are we asking difficult questions, challenging the dominant voices, managing conflicts openly, you know, and making decisions that members can trust, even when those decisions might be, you know, commercially uncomfortable to do. So in a nutshell, I think we're moving away from Just independent, you know, are you independent trustee? But asking ourselves, is that independence visible? And you do that to assessing the ethical leadership of the board.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the purpose of this Industry Insights episode with Joelene Moodley?
0:05–3:45
2
How is 'independence' defined and why might the independent trustee be a 'unicorn'?
3:45–13:27
3
Why is ethical leadership now being emphasized over mere independent status?
13:27–26:48
4
Can independent trustees and principal officers strengthen member trust in practice?
26:48–31:54
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from EBnet's Industry Insights
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