End of the easy path to state company supervisory boards. Aftermath of the Collegium Humanum scandal

Poland is set to introduce stricter qualification requirements for individuals seeking to join the supervisory boards of state-owned companies. The Ministry of State Assets (MAP) has prepared a draft amendment to the law on the management of state property, aiming to ensure that key positions are filled by professionals with a deep understanding of market specifics and the responsibilities involved.

Under the current law, candidates must have higher education and at least five years of professional experience, along with one additional qualification. These include advanced academic degrees, professional titles like lawyer or auditor, an MBA, or passing a state exam for supervisory board members. The proposed changes would expand the criteria to include at least five years of experience managing a large enterprise, defined by specific employee numbers or financial thresholds.

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Key positions should be entrusted to professionals who understand both the specifics of the market and the weight of responsibility associated with managing state assets.

Crucially, the MAP wants to increase the minimum professional experience required for these roles from five to seven years. This move is partly a response to the scandal involving Collegium Humanum, where many politicians rapidly obtained MBA degrees. The scandal exposed how individuals exploited a loophole that allowed MBA titles to substitute for the rigorous state exam previously required for supervisory board positions.

Furthermore, the draft legislation seeks to enhance the requirements for the council that reviews candidates for state-owned company boards. The ministry stated its goal is to ensure board members possess the highest level of expertise, extensive professional experience, and are independent and apolitical. The proposed rules would also bar members of parliament, senators, European Parliament members, and individuals serving in local government bodies from joining these boards.

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The goal of the introduced changes is for board members to be individuals with the highest level of substantive knowledge and rich professional experience, but also independent and apolitical people.