What International Corporate Governance Society does

The International Corporate Governance Society (ICGS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic society incorporated in Virginia on May 1, 2014, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. Founded by William (Bill) Judge — former Editor-in-Chief of Corporate Governance: An International Review — the society's mission is to create a global forum for corporate governance scholars to produce rigorous research, teaching, and consulting. ICGS serves four primary member segments: academic faculty/scholars (primary), practitioners, doctoral candidates, and policy-makers, with a current membership of 264 individuals across 33 nations and a claimed geographic reach spanning 180+ countries.

ICGS operates a bundled membership model that provides access to two flagship peer-reviewed journals — Corporate Governance: An International Review (in partnership with Wiley) and Annals of Corporate Governance (in partnership with Now Publishers) — along with BoardEx governance data, an annual international conference that rotates across host universities (Copenhagen 2015 through Montreal 2026), webinars, paper development workshops, doctoral consortiums, a mentorship program, and travel grants including the European Travel Grant ($2,000) and Emerging Economies Travel Grant ($1,000). The society does not develop proprietary technology; its core offering is curated academic content, in-person and virtual convening, and community infrastructure.

Revenue is generated primarily through individual membership dues (faculty/practitioner at $125/year or $250/3 years; students at $80/year; general membership at $200/3 years), conference registration fees ($225-$550 per ticket), and journal partnership arrangements. Marketing and distribution are event-driven, anchored by the annual conference and supplemented by LinkedIn presence, email newsletters, and university partnerships. ICGS is governed by an elected Board of Directors (8-17 members) under bylaws that grant all members equal voting rights, with no parent company, subsidiaries, or external funding rounds.

Name

International Corporate Governance Society

Legal name

International Corporate Governance Society

Website

https://icgsociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICGS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit academic society founded in 2014 that serves 264 corporate governance scholars, practitioners, students, and policy-makers globally through bundled membership including two peer-reviewed journals, an annual rotating university conference, and research grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Society Membership

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies (EDADACAG)

Keywords

• Corporate governance research
• Academic society membership
• Scholarly journal publishing
• Academic conference services
• Professional association governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Norfolk

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual and multi-year membership subscriptions for faculty, practitioners, and students providing access to journals, conferences, webinars, and other society resources.
2. Conference Registration: Revenue from annual conference tickets including early bird and standard rates for different member categories, plus gala dinner guest tickets.
3. Journal Partnerships: Partnership with Wiley for Corporate Governance: An International Review and Now Publishers for Annals of Corporate Governance, providing member access as a membership benefit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ICGS is a nonprofit academic society that sells memberships providing access to two flagship corporate governance journals, the Annual ICGS Conference, webinars, workshops, a mentorship program, and travel grants for scholars and practitioners. Memberships are offered at tiered prices (Faculty, Practitioner, Student) for 1- and 3-year terms, supplemented by paid conference registration and sponsored grants. The society also delivers prestige awards and the BoardEx data resource as member benefits.

Product overview

ICGS operates as a professional academic society offering a membership-based service portfolio centered on advancing corporate governance research, teaching, and consulting. The core offering is ICGS Membership, which provides access to two flagship journals (Corporate Governance: An International Review and Annals of Corporate Governance), BoardEx data access, annual conferences, webinars, workshops, mentorship programs, and travel grants. The society organizes the Annual ICGS Conference series (11th in 2025, 12th in 2026) and maintains regional workshop programs. This is a unified membership model where all benefits are bundled together, not a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ICGS Membership Annual and multi-year membership providing individual scholars, practitioners, and students with access to corporate governance research, journals, conferences, webinars, workshops, networking, grants, and mentorship programs.
• Annual ICGS Conference Annual international academic conference bringing together corporate governance scholars and practitioners to present and discuss the latest research, hosted at a rotating partner university.
• Corporate Governance: An International Review Leading peer-reviewed academic journal covering international corporate governance research, published in partnership with Wiley and accessible to ICGS members through the Wiley Online Library.
• Annals of Corporate Governance Scholarly publication providing a platform for seminal writing in corporate governance, published in partnership with Now Publishers.
• ICGS Webinars Online webinar series featuring scholarly presentations on corporate governance topics from academics and practitioners worldwide, provided as a member benefit.
• ICGS Workshops Regional and topic-focused workshops providing paper development sessions, doctoral consortiums, and networking opportunities for governance scholars.
• ICGS Mentorship Program Program connecting early-career scholars with experienced mentors in corporate governance for professional development and career guidance, included as a member benefit.
• ICGS Travel Grants and Funding Travel grants including the ICGS European Travel Grant ($2,000 for early career researchers from European countries) and the ICGS Emerging Economies Travel Grant ($1,000 for researchers from emerging economies), plus conference and membership fee waivers.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• HEC MontréalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 October 2026Host institution for the 12th Annual ICGS Conference (October 3-4, 2026). Located at Édifice Hélène-Desmarais, 501 Rue De la Gauchetière O, Montréal, QC H2Z 1Z5, Canada. Conference co-chaired by HEC Montréal professors Eduardo Schiehll, Zvi Singer, and Ari Van Assche.
• University of ManchestercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 October 2025Host institution for the 11th Annual ICGS Conference (October 18-19, 2025) titled 'Transformative Corporate Governance'. Conference held at Alliance Manchester Business School.
• Board FoundationmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Conference sponsor and partner providing the ICGS European Travel Grant ($2,000 for early career researchers and doctoral candidates from European countries). Also sponsors the Board Dynamics and Strategic Leadership Best Paper Award.
• Governance AcademyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025Conference sponsor for the 11th Annual ICGS Conference in Manchester 2025.
• Arizona State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 November 2024Host institution for the 10th Annual ICGS Conference (November 9-10, 2024) titled 'An Integrative View of Corporate Governance Theory and Research' at Tempe, AZ.
• IE UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 October 2023Host institution for the 9th Annual ICGS Conference (October 21-22, 2023) titled 'Sustainable Corporate Governance' held in Madrid, Spain.
• International Finance Center at World BankmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Notable collaboration established in 2017 as part of ICGS's growing network of institutional partnerships.
• Wiley PublicationsmajorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Corporate partner for the 3rd Annual ICGS Conference in Rome 2017. Long-standing journal partnership provider.
• University of CopenhagencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Early strategic partner for ICGS's first international conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2015. Conference titled 'Regaining Trust in Business through Effective Corporate Governance' with Steen Thomsen as conference chair.
• Wiley (Corporate Governance: An International Review)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJournal partnership for Corporate Governance: An International Review, the leading academic journal for international corporate governance research. Available through Wiley Online Library.
• Now Publishers (Annals of Corporate Governance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJournal partnership for the Annals of Corporate Governance (ACG), providing a scholarly platform for seminal writing in the field. Launched in January 2015.
• BoardExminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerData access partnership providing members with BoardEx governance data resources.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• European Corporate Governance Institute: Leading independent research institute focused on corporate governance, publishes working papers, hosts events, and awards prizes. Directly comparable mission of advancing corporate governance scholarship and policy influence, and ECGI Prize winners overlap with ICGS-affiliated scholars.
• International Corporate Governance Network: Investor-led global governance organization advancing corporate governance standards. Comparable in international reach and governance focus, though ICGN is practitioner/investor-weighted while ICGS is academic-weighted.
• European Corporate Governance Research Network: European research network convening academics working on corporate governance. Closely aligned with ICGS's academic governance research mission and conference format, often co-hosting or overlapping sessions.
• National Association of Corporate Directors: US-focused member organization for corporate directors and governance professionals, providing education, certification, and networking. Comparable in serving governance professionals via memberships, conferences, and educational content.

Broad incumbents

• Academy of Management: The largest professional academic society for management researchers, hosting annual meetings and publishing multiple journals. Overlaps with ICGS on the scholar/membership conference model but operates across the full management discipline rather than corporate governance specialty.

Regional players

• Institute of Corporate Directors: Canada's national governance body offering director certification and education. Comparable membership-driven governance association model, though focused exclusively on the Canadian market.
• Australian Institute of Company Directors: Australia's pre-eminent director membership body providing governance education and credentials. Comparable governance-focused membership association structure, but geographically distinct from ICGS.

Emerging players

• Financial Management Association: Global academic society for finance researchers with annual meetings, journals, and member services. Comparable membership-driven academic association model with overlapping governance/finance scholarship.

Others

• World Bank/IFC Corporate Governance: Multilateral institution producing governance research, standards, and capacity building. ICGS partnered with the World Bank's International Finance Center in 2017; adjacent as a research and policy counterpart rather than a membership competitor.
• Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: Academic-practitioner forum publishing governance analyses and hosting events. Adjacent in curating governance scholarship for academic and practitioner audiences, but operates as a forum rather than a membership society.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/internationalcorpgovsociety
• Xx.com/icgs_governance
• Facebookfacebook.com/International-Corporate-Governance-Society-ICGS-1090501911096273

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Corporate Governance Society