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Building the Future: Global Executive Education for Modern Boards
At Future of Governance International Conference 2026, Envisia and Euronext Academy launched a new executive education program designed to strengthen governance, capital markets literacy and board readiness in a rapidly changing environment
As governance environments become increasingly shaped by geopolitical volatility, technological acceleration, regulatory pressure and growing expectations around accountability, boards are being asked to oversee systems far more complex than those many traditional governance models were originally designed for.
One of the most future-oriented conversations at Future of Governance International Conference 2026 focused precisely on this growing challenge: how leaders continue learning in environments where markets, regulation, technology and stakeholder expectations evolve faster than institutional adaptation itself.
The conversation marked an important milestone in the growing partnership between Envisia – Boards of Elite and Euronext Corporate Solutions through Euronext Academy, built around a shared belief that governance professionalism increasingly depends on continuous education, cross-market exposure and the ability to navigate complexity beyond local frameworks.
At the center of this partnership stands the launch of the new executive education certification programme developed together by Envisia and Euronext Academy —Corporate Governance in Financial Markets - a program designed to support board members, senior executives and governance professionals operating in increasingly interconnected and demanding institutional environments.
The session brought together Fedra Ribeiro, Member of the Supervisory Board, Non-Executive Director, Euronext Group, Daniela Biagi, Head of Academy – Euronext Group, Board Member of Euronext corporate Solution Italy, Alexandru Petrescu, President of the Financial Supervisory Authority of Romania, Costel Negricea, Prof. Univ. Dr. Habil, Rector Romanian-American University and Gabriela Hărțescu, PhD, Dean of Envisia, Visiting Fellow Henley Business School, Director of Growth and Development Postgraduate Programs, Romanian-American University, in a conversation exploring why governance professionalization increasingly depends on continuous education, capital markets understanding and international exposure.
Rather than positioning governance education as a one-time milestone achieved through seniority or accumulated experience alone, the discussion framed continuous learning as part of governance responsibility itself.
Beyond Seniority: The Need for Continuous Executive Education in Governance
Opening the conversation, Fedra Ribeiro positioned governance transformation within a broader European context shaped by interconnected markets, accelerated regulation and rising institutional expectations.
As CEO of Euronext Lisbon and member of the Managing Board of Euronext, she emphasized that governance conversations can no longer remain isolated within local frameworks or purely national perspectives.
“The challenges boards face today are no longer local challenges,” she noted during the discussion, arguing that governance increasingly requires leaders capable of understanding interconnected systems, markets and risks across borders.
Ribeiro also emphasized that capital markets themselves are becoming increasingly interconnected governance environments, where transparency, accountability and long-term trust directly influence institutional resilience and investor confidence.
This widening governance agenda formed the broader context for the launch of the Corporate Governance in Capital Markets Certification Programme developed by Envisia and Euronext Academy — a program designed to support board members, executives and governance professionals navigating increasingly interconnected environments.
Obtaining a Corporate Governance Certification in the Age of Transformation
A recurring theme throughout the panel was that expertise itself is becoming increasingly perishable. Boards today are expected to oversee issues ranging from capital markets and sustainability to cybersecurity, AI, geopolitical risk and stakeholder trust — often simultaneously.
For Gabriela Hărțescu, this creates the need for governance education models capable of evolving continuously alongside leadership realities. “The pace of change no longer allows governance professionals to rely only on accumulated experience,” she emphasized during the discussion.
The panel repeatedly returned to the idea that governance maturity increasingly depends not only on technical competence, but also on intellectual adaptability, interdisciplinary thinking and continuous recalibration.
In this context, the Envisia – Euronext partnership was presented not simply as an educational collaboration, but as part of a broader effort to strengthen governance capacity across the region.
Why the Best Corporate Governance Certification Includes Capital Markets Literacy
An important dimension of the discussion focused on the relationship between governance and capital markets understanding. As institutional environments become increasingly interconnected, boards are expected to navigate not only operational and strategic decisions, but also market expectations, investor relations, transparency requirements and regulatory complexity.
Alexandru Petrescu, President of the Financial Supervisory Authority of Romania, emphasized that governance quality and capital markets maturity evolve together, particularly in environments where institutional trust becomes increasingly important for economic resilience and investment confidence.
For Petrescu, strengthening governance professionalism also means strengthening institutional literacy around financial systems and market dynamics. The discussion highlighted the growing importance of leaders capable of understanding how governance decisions influence institutional trust, market confidence and long-term economic resilience.
This perspective also shaped the logic behind the Corporate Governance in Capital Markets Certification Programme, which aims to combine governance frameworks with a stronger understanding of capital markets realities and European institutional ecosystems.
The Envisia & Euronext Partnership: A New Standard for Board Education
Another major theme throughout the discussion concerned the idea that governance professionalization cannot happen exclusively through regulation or formal frameworks. Instead, speakers emphasized the importance of building long-term learning cultures inside institutions and leadership ecosystems.
Costel Negricea emphasized the role universities and executive education ecosystems play in supporting governance maturity beyond formal qualifications alone. Negricea reflected on the importance of educational environments capable of supporting leaders throughout multiple stages of their governance and executive careers. “Professionalization is not a destination. It is a continuous process of learning, questioning and adapting,” he argued during the conversation.
Daniela Biagi, Head of Academy within Euronext Group, argued that governance education itself must evolve beyond static certification models toward learning ecosystems capable of supporting leaders throughout multiple stages of their careers and across rapidly changing institutional realities. In increasingly volatile environments, she noted, governance professionals must continuously update not only technical knowledge, but also their capacity to interpret interconnected risks, markets and stakeholder expectations.
Across the discussion, one broader conclusion became increasingly clear: governance education is no longer simply an executive development tool. It is becoming part of institutional resilience itself. As boards navigate expanding responsibilities across regulation, capital markets, technology, sustainability and public trust, the ability to learn continuously may become one of the defining leadership capabilities of the next decade.
The full discussion on governance, capital markets and continuous board education can be viewed on YouTube here, and here Fedra Riberiro’s intervention.
The discussion formed part of the broader dialogue hosted by Envisia at the 5th edition of Future of Governance International Conference 2026, where international experts, executives, public officials and governance professionals explored how leadership and institutions are adapting to a world defined by growing complexity, fragmentation and accelerated change.
The Future of Governance International Conference 2026 is part of the broader ecosystem developed by Envisia – Boards of Elite, which includes executive education programs, governance initiatives and the Envisia Connect community platform dedicated to board members, senior executives and governance professionals.
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