Corporate Governance Briefs
2018
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Q&A with Charles Elson: Weinberg Center Chair’s Perspective on the Job of a Corporate Director
July 30 | Charles M. Elson, Edgar S. Woolard, Jr. Chair in Corporate Governance, University of Delaware's Lerner College of Business & Economics | Comments (0)This Q&A with Charles Elson discusses the job of the corporate director from his perspective as The University of Delaware Center for Corporate Governance's Chair. He touches on topics like the influence of Delaware law and management engagement on the role of corporate directors.
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On Governance: The Evolving Limits of Director Oversight
July 25 | Pamela Tikellis, Founding Partner, Chimicles & Tikellis LLP (Retired), ESG Center Fellow | Comments (0)Director oversight is changing as new crises like data breaches and toxic workplace problems emerge. Shareholders are demanding focused risk management from their board of directors. As a result, boards are now looking for ways to improve meaningful oversight.
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On Governance: Institutional Investor Engagement: One Size Does Not Fit All
July 18 | Charles M. Nathan, Consulting Partner, Finsbury Glover Hering, ESG Center Fellow | Comments (1)Companies should now consider using engagement models dependent on investor preferences. An ESG-centric paradigm is being challenged by portfolio-management-centric engagement.
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On Governance: Culture Matters
July 11 | Deborah Midanek Bailey, Founder and President, Solon Group Inc. | Comments (0)In this piece, corporate culture is defined as an intangible asset driving company value. A culture of trust and support is found to be the best way to foster success in the workplace. To create this environment, boards and executives must focus on engagement, financial success, recruiting, and retention.
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Podcast on Social Purpose: The Conference Board’s Executives and Members Opine
July 03 | ESG Center | Comments (0)The Bottom Line, a podcast on social progress, spoke to thought leaders associated with The Conference Board on the letter that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink wrote calling for companies to positively contribute to society.
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On Governance: Dual Class Share Voting versus the 'Empty Voting' of Mutual Fund Advisors’
July 02 | Bernard Sharfman, Associate Fellow, R Street Institute | Comments (0)Why voting in dual class shares is a value maximizing result, but empty voting has become a systemic risk. Mutual fund advisors have a lack of economic interest, despite having the voting rights to the associated securities.
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Sustainability in the mainstream: Investors ESG interaction with companies
June 29 | Anuj Saush, ESG Center Leader, Europe, The Conference Board | Comments (0)Increasing recognition of the impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities on portfolio value is driving institutional investors engagement with companies on ESG.
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On Governance: Why and How Companies Should Now Review Their Director Compensation Plans
June 27 | James D. C. Barrall, Senior Fellow in Residence, Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy, UCLA School of Law, ESG Center Fellow | Comments (0)Recent settlements in two cases appear to have been heavily influenced by the Investors Bancorp decision in ways that do not bode well for directors who determine their own compensation under shareholder-approved plans that do not limit their discretion to amounts that would not make it worthwhile for the plaintiffs’ lawyers to sue, or could be protected by the business judgment rule.
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On Governance: Boards, CEOs and CFOs Need to Demand a Lot More from Internal Audit and Risk Groups
June 20 | Tim Leech, Managing Director, Global Services, Risk Oversight Inc. | Comments (1)Boards, CEOs, and CFOs need to dramatically raise the bar, demanding better risk and internal audit processes and better metrics to measure the real value-add from internal audit and risk spending. A new approach to assurance, “Strategy and Value Oversight” and specific end result metrics are proposed, metrics capable of helping companies create and preserve long-term value and meet escalating expectations of powerful institutional investors, regulators, and others.
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On Governance: Balancing Directors’ Hindsight, Insight, and Foresight for Rebuilding a Board
June 11 | Patrick Dailey, Co-founder, BoardQuest | Comments (0)(This is the second part of a two-part series on the philosophy of filling boards with competent directors, making them more effective, and rebuilding them when necessary.) There are three facets of vision capability: Focus: Does a candidate or sitting director tend toward hindsight, insight or foresight? Range: Is a director able to contribute in each of the three areas? Proficiency: Where does a director demonstrate mastery [or notable weakness]?