When University of Toronto assistant professor Tim Rowley set out on his latest research project, he intended to illustrate the undue influence of Canada's 'old boys' network' on corporate boards of directors.

Instead, he came to the surprising conclusion that while there is an elite of interconnected directors at Canada's largest firms, they have had a positive impact as leaders of corporate governance reform.

'The assumption has always been that the old boys' club is a bad thing. And in many cases, it probably points to recruiting practices that aren't desirable,' said Prof. Rowley, who is also director of the Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics & Board Effectiveness at the U of T's Rotman School of Management. 'But when it comes to governance, our research indicates they actually drive good governance.'

[...] "But I think it has evolved now to a point where the old boys have become sold on the importance of good corporate governance. And because they are old boys . . . they can bring to the table more authority in dealing with and addressing these issues."

Indeed, he says he has seen "old boys" adopt new governance ideas "more easily than some of the new boys" because their business experience has demonstrated their value.

[...] The U of T study looked only at the group of 16 directors who sat on five or more boards of S&P/TSX index companies as of September this year. The researchers graphed the web of connections between the companies they oversee, and placed one director at the centre of the web: Torstar Corp. chief executive officer Robert Prichard.