Education group aims to become global certification body for directors

The Corporate Governance Institute, a Dublin-based training business, expects to double its turnover to €8 million in 2024.

The institute is an online education body that provides programmes that certifies that directors are competent to be on boards. The business was founded by David W. Duffy and Anthony Quigley in 2020. It currently has 30 staff and has raised €2.5 million in funding.

“I was doing a course in leadership online a long time ago. After I finished it, I wondered if anyone was doing something similar in corporate governance. I found out there wasn’t anyone and that’s where I got the idea to start the Corporate Governance Institute,” Duffy told the Business Post.

“I was looking for someone to be a commercial partner with a track record in success in education. I knew Anthony had been successful in that respect. I pitched it to him and two weeks later he said ‘let’s go’.”

The business attracted 18 people to do its first course in September 2020 across the UK and Ireland. By the end of that year another 60 people went through its courses.

“That was when we knew we were onto something. We had five staff in our first year, up to 12 in 2021 and now we’re at 30. We initially attracted our customers almost entirely through Google Ads,” he said.

“We hired our first head of content in 2021, Stephen Conmy. He’s a former journalist and he has helped to build up our database which has made an enormous difference. The content has attracted a lot of people to our site. Now half of the people that come to us do so because of finding the content.”

The institute provides two diplomas, one in corporate governance and one in environmental, social, and governance. Both of these are accredited by Glasgow Caledonian University.

The business has been supported by Enterprise Ireland. The agency was an early investor in the Corporate Governance Institute.

“They own 10 per cent of the business. We have both known Enterprise Ireland for a long time and have huge experience starting companies. The funding was an obvious help but they help us with research as well,” Duffy said.

“They are helping us with a strategy consulting project at the moment to map out our next three years.”

The business has customers in over 50 countries but the bulk of the business remains in the UK and Ireland. Duffy is confident the business will continue to deepen its reach into other markets.

“We want to become the global certification body for directors. If you go on a board anywhere in the world, we want people to ask if you are certified by the Corporate Governance Institute,” he said.

“We’re supporting people in Japan, Canada, Mongolia and Zimbabwe right now. We want to keep growing. The aim is to reach 40 staff next year and have turnover of between €6 million and €8 million.”