Rate My Professor Irene-Marie Esser

Professor Irene-Marie Esser is Professor of Corporate Law and Governance and Subject Head of Commercial Law in the School of Law at the University of Glasgow, holding the Sir Alexander Stone Chair in Commercial Law. She serves as Dean of the Graduate School in the College of Social Sciences and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. Esser obtained her LLB from Stellenbosch University in 2001, graduating first in her class, an LLM from the University of Aberdeen in 2003, and an LLD from the University of South Africa in 2008. Admitted as an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa in 2005, she held the position of Professor and Co-Subject Head of Corporate Law at the University of South Africa until March 2013. She joined the University of Glasgow as Senior Lecturer in Commercial Law in September 2015, advancing to Professor and taking on additional leadership roles including Director of Postgraduate Teaching and Early-Career Co-ordinator. She is currently Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University since 2020, Visiting Professor at the National Law University Jodhpur in India, Senior Advisor at the Centre of Corporate Governance of the Institute of Directors, and a board member of the Global Research Foundation for Corporate Governance. Previously, she was Professor Extraordinarius at the University of South Africa until 2019 and Visiting Professor at the Open University, UK, until 2017.

Esser's research focuses on corporate governance, company law, and corporate social responsibility, employing doctrinal and empirical approaches in the contexts of the UK, EU, and South Africa. She teaches Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Company Law at the University of Glasgow and supervises postgraduate research students. Selected key publications include 'The emergence of ‘comply or explain’ as a global model for corporate governance codes' (European Business Law Review, 2022), 'Engaging stakeholders in corporate decision-making through strategic reporting: an empirical study of FTSE 100 companies' Parts 1 (2018) and 2 (2020) co-authored with Iain MacNeil, and 'Shareholder protection philosophy in terms of the Companies Act 71 of 2008' (Tydskrif vir Hedendaagse Romeins-Hollandse Reg, 2016, with P.A. Delport), which received the prize for the best article published in 2016 in that journal. She served as External Consultant to the King IV Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, with direct quotes from her co-authored articles incorporated into the King IV Report. Notable awards and honors encompass UNISA’s Principal’s Prize for Excellence in Research (2009), Women in Research Award as the youngest staff member with a doctorate (2009), and National Research Foundation Thuthuka Grants (2007-2010). Esser has delivered accredited workshops on board governance at the University of Johannesburg since 2009, serves on the editorial board of the European Business Law Review, and acts as an examiner for ACCA's South African Business Law module.