A Governance Revolution is Underway in Canada’s Private Sector – Executive Education Needs to Pay Attention

by Jennifer Mondoux
July 30, 2026

As the private sector increasingly embraces sophisticated governance as a competitive advantage, Canada's director training programs remain focused on public companies.

Private Companies Are Transforming Governance. Why Isn't Director Education Keeping Up?

For the past three and a half years, as the founder and chair of Canada's Best Private Boards, I've had a front-row seat to an important trend: private companies are investing in governance.  

✅ Family-owned businesses are building sophisticated advisory boards.

✅ Founder-led companies are bringing in independent directors (and Chairs).

✅ Employee-owned organizations are leaning in to new governance models and embracing external perspectives.

✅ PE-backed companies are professionalizing governance earlier and earlier in their evolution. 

Private companies increasingly see governance as a competitive advantage, to help manage complexity and drive organizational performance. They are becoming remarkably advanced in their approach, for advisory and fiduciary boards alike. They could teach a thing or two.

What's equally as striking is how little executive education in Canada is paying attention.

There is no shortage of director training across the country, nor of professionals who are keen to fork over both money and time for a coveted governance designation.

Yet time and time again the feedback I receive from individuals who have attended these programs is as follows: Great content. Good networking. Very little focus on governance outside of public companies.

Why are we missing this opportunity?

Canada's Private Governance Boom Is Leaving Executive Education Behind

Governance training is a good thing.

Thousands have been educated through these programs (myself included, although not in Canada), and because of this are making better and stronger contributions to the boards on which they serve.

These programs have value. But there is a persistent disconnect: the content is largely built around public-company governance while at the same time, the classroom often reflects a strong not-for-profit presence.

As a result, some leaders in the private sector are asking an important question: are traditional director education programs really designed for the challenges private companies face?

The Next Frontier of Governance Education Is In Canada's Private Sector

In our executive search practice, I often ask public company directors a straightforward but revealing question: How will serving on a private company board be different?  

Some struggle to answer. Not because they lack expertise, but because their experience and assumptions have been shaped largely by the public company environment.  

That's a problem. Private companies make up the vast majority of Canadian businesses and are growing in both size and complexity, yet dedicated executive education in private company governance, in this country, remains limited.

The demand is obvious. Since launching Canada's Best Private Boards in 2023 we've received 300 nominations, a level of engagement that would have been unimaginable a decade ago.

Yet Canada still lacks a clear institutional leader in private company governance, particularly compared with the U.S., where top business schools have long invested in family business and private enterprise governance.

The opportunity is sitting in plain sight.

Forward-looking institutions have a chance to help shape the next chapter of governance education in Canada.