The Conference Board Middle East and North Africa Briefs

In this interview, Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, reflects on the death of George Floyd, the uprisings that have spread across America as a result, and the role of public corporations in fostering diversity and inclusion and driving social change.

The SEC’s proposal to “fix” Form 13F – the form on which large investment managers report their equity holdings of public companies – could have a significant impact on companies being aware of, as well responding to and engaging with, activist investors – especially at relatively smaller companies, which are are increasingly susceptible to activism.

In this interview, Nicole Anderson, President of the AT&T Foundation and AVP, Corporate Social Responsibility, discusses AT&T’s response to COVID-19, including why company the reaffirmed its commitment to distant learning and the importance of building upon your existing network, partners, and core competencies to deploy resources quickly and effectively in a time of crisis.

The Covid-19 pandemic is leading to what may end up being the deepest economic recession since the Great Depression. But eventually, a vaccine will be found, and the fear of the virus will dissipate. How different will the US economy look, say five years from now?

One of the categories that experiences the largest decline in a typical recession is consumer spending on goods. The US is now enduring the worst recession in 80 years: Employment in July was about 13 million below February’s number while GDP dropped by 11 percent in the first half of 2020. Yet in June, consumer spending on goods was 5 percent above pre-Covid-19 levels. Why?

In an interview with prepaid-card solution Soldo, Klass de Vries explains the prospects for European productivity levels in the wake of this spring's lockdowns. Discover why he believes recovery is likely as businesses everywhere adjust to COVID-19 safeguards.

As companies prepare for their compensation committees to make year-end decisions on 2020 incentive plan payouts, and design their programs for 2021, we expect they will proceed with an extra degree of care. Next year may not be a time for immediate major shifts in executive compensation, but for deeper analysis and dialogue that could lead to fundamental changes.

A recently released study found that workplace giving programs are growing in popularity and acceptance as companies look for more ways of investing in communities that are key to their business.

As government restrictions on business are being lifted across the U.S. and worldwide, the reopening process will vary by industry, geography, and type of workforce – and is unlikely to proceed in a straight line. This blog provides key governance and legal considerations for companies and their boards as businesses return to the office, and the economy “reopens.”

When it comes to bringing remote workers back to office, the top two factors companies consider are government and medical/scientific guidance, according to a recent pulse survey of business continuity, crisis management, and employee health & safety professionals.