Bruce Herbert on Vote counting, Chevron, and the changing tide of investor awareness. That’s a small fraction of Bruce Herbert’s focus at Newground Social Investment and some of what we will discuss on April 11, @ 11 am Pacific (2 pm Eastern). Register. CorpEngage.net houses links to scheduled Corporate Accountability Forums and a growing number of […]
Corporate Accountability Fall 2021: Restoring the Balance. This is your chance to discuss the issues with Nell Minow, Michae O’Leary, Andy Behar, Josh Zinner, Doug Chia, Bruce F. Freed, Heidi Welsh, Jon Lukomnik, Tim Smith, Christina Sautter, Rick Alexander, Karen E. Woody, Sanford Lewis. Spring will include Leo Strine Jr, Brandon Rees, Jackie Cook, David […]
ESG Insider April 9 is the most recent S&P Global podcast. Co-hosts Lindsey White and Esther Whieldon interview the sponsors of several new proxy proposals. As a shareholder advocate trying to get the word out on my own proposals, I found it interesting and informative. Last season I participated in Tesla Investor Briefing 2020 AGM with […]
Exit vs Voice? (link) Which strategy is most effective in moving us in a positive direction? Although most investors, especially retail investors, appear focused on exit by moving to ESG funds, the authors conclude voice is the more effective tool. From the abstract: We study the relative effectiveness of exit (divestment and boycott) and voice […]
SEC to Protect Shareholder Rights in 2021 Shareholder rights in 2021 will strengthen if recent speculation is realized. U.S. Senate Democrats aim to undo Trump-era shareholder voting rights rule. Shareholder Rights in 2021: History As discussed elsewhere on CorpGov.net (Review: Carl Gershenson). After its founding, the SEC was largely a champion of shareholder rights, requiring companies […]
What Does It Profit is a relatively new podcast series and more hosted by Dr. Dawn Carpenter. Of course, the name of her podcast derives from the Biblical reference (Mark 8:36): What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Carpenter argues we can’t put our price tag on what […]
SHARE Investor Summit 2021, register. This will be a fantastic virtual event, February 16-19, 2021. Against the backdrop of the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, escalating wealth inequality, systemic racism, and the continuing climate crisis, we rise to the challenge. The SHARE Investor Summit 2021 brings together investment decision-makers and leaders to identify ways of […]
Virtual Shareholder Meetings 2021. The Report of the 2020 Multi-Stakeholder Working Group on Practices for Virtual Shareholder Meetings came out about a month ago. I (James McRitchie) was happy to participate in the group, which did a good job of considering diverse views. Kudos to Amy Borrus, Darla Stuckey, and Doug Chia. My major contribution ensured […]
The Gadfly With Gabriel Malek (click to listen) This is my current favorite of the #corpgov #ESG podcasts. I am partial to the name gadfly, since I am often called one myself. Likewise, Malek is trying to talk with the same audience I am hoping to reach. Sure, we both want environmental, social, and governance […]
Proxy voting alignment with client values will drive competition between index funds. Most index funds have low fees and earn close to the same rate of return for their investors. How can they differentiate themselves? SEC Commissioner Rob Jackson Jr. implies competition should be driven, at least in part, by funds aligning their proxy votes with […]
SEC Proxy Process Video: November 15, 2018 In the interest of documenting important events in corporate governance, I am here bookmarking the SEC Proxy Process Video from November 15, 2018, for future reference. Read transcript by downloading the following pdf: SEC TranscriptShareholderProposalsRoundtable. (full day) SEC Proxy Process Video (Click to View) (more…)
David Webber was interviewed by Doug Chia recently. I previously reviewed Webber’s book elsewhere, Working-Class Shareholder: Review Essay, which included links to several interviews. However, Doug Chia’s interview of David Weber is exceptionally good, worth viewing. Douglas (Doug) Chia is executive director of the Governance Center for The Conference Board. (more…)
Nell Minow is one of my heroes. Her 1991 book with Bob Monks, Power and Accountability: Restoring the Balances of Power Between Corporations and Society, helped me give a name and framework to what I thought was the world’s most important overlooked problem — corporate governance. During the last 27 years, I have never met […]
GE PX14A6G: Notice of Exempt Solicitation pursuant to Rule 14a-103 reproduced below with minor modifications. Please sign on to our Change.org campaign. Use Real Impact Tracker to ask your fund to vote for Shareholder Proposal 3, “Deduct Impact of Stock Buybacks from Executive Pay” at or before the GE annual meeting. See also SEC ADMITS IT’S NOT MONITORING STOCK BUYBACKS […]
A new measuring effectiveness roadmap helps investors ensure they are moving beyond generating environmental or social impact through individual market transactions and are better aligning with broader system-level goals (e.g., the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). Group action along the same trajectory can better influence system-level change. The measuring effectiveness roadmap helps investors answer […]
Benefit corporation governance provides increased accountability. Most of our financial capital is allocated and stewarded through a system that has a primary goal of creating financial return. This goal directs the real economy, where shareholders treat corporations as accountable for financial results, but not for their economic, social or environmental impact. (more…)
The 2018 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and its impact on boards was the subject of a January 31 meeting of the NACD’s Northern California Chapter. We met at the offices of WilmerHale in Palo Alto. We heard primarily from Maureen Conners, Fashion Incubator San Francisco board director and former director of Deckers Brands (NYSE: DECK); […]
Real Impact Tracker Involves Everyday Investors in Creating Better Corporate Governance Everyday investors need to play a greater role in corporate governance. It’s dominated by institutions, where the least common denominator is profits Everyday investors should hold companies and funds accountable to their values Everyday investors can play a greater role in corporate governance The Real Impact […]
Michael Garland: In the News Michael Garland, his boss Scott M. Stringer and the New York City Pension Funds are setting a higher bar for corporate boards and other funds with regard to corporate governance standards. I wish more would try to do half as much for shareholders. (more…)
Corporate Culture Influencer On September 11, 2017, the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance hosted a discussion on the role of the general counsel and how she should be a positive corporate culture influencer. The Center has been working with the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) to examine this issue in light of ACC’s recent […]
Since 2003, the Center for Political Accountability (CPA) has spearheaded disclosure and accountability in corporate political spending. Corporations are the top political spenders at the state and local level. They are a dominant force in shaping public policy. Next proxy season, I will join the Center for Political Accountability in filing proposals on this important topic. […]
The objective of the forum videoed below was explore how the adoption of mutuality principles and the Economics of Mutuality approach to value creation can contribute to the both society and the commercial success of firms. The notion that business has a significant role in addressing human and social problems has led to a re-evaluation of […]
Mark Collinson and Elaine Ketchmere of Compass Investor Relations present micro-cap best practices in corporate governance. This is from the webinar, Corporate Governance Best Practices & Communication Strategies, sponsored by OTC Markets Group and Compass Investor Relations. Overall, excellent advice; I did have one nit to pick. (more…)
Wharton’s Marshall Fisher discusses how retailers can break their ‘addiction’ to top-line growth and adding new stores. Eventually, they run out of new territory and must refocus on building margins by improving same store sales. Fisher describes how 17 retailers did it and the common themes they used. There are lessons here for companies like […]
Ron O’Hanley, President and CEO of State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), was recently hosted at the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. According to the Weinberg Center, SSGA is a recognized leader in corporate governance. Ron O’Hanley gave an inspiring talk as part of the Center’s 2017 Corporate Governance Symposium. Mr. […]
What better way to bring in the new year than to get advice from Nell Minow, the Queen of Good Corporate Governance, especially with the Trump Administration about to begin? In the talk below, Minow addresses an audience sponsored by the Center for Study of Responsive Law, which held its second four-day conference on securing […]
Update 7/12/2016: Reeds Inc received two faxed proposals from two shareholders before the deadline for submissions. It looks like shareholders will get to vote on both proxy access and creating an independent chairman. Maybe shareholders can help to turn our company around. Institutional investors only hold about 14% of Reeds Inc and insiders hold 26%, […]
Marrone Bio Settles Class Action: Announcement Marrone Bio settles class action; time to move on. Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ:MBII, $MBII), a leading provider of bio-based pest management and plant health products for the agriculture, turf and ornamental and water treatment markets, recently announced the Company and other defendants, including certain of the […]
Uprising Against Wall Street – it has certainly been a clarion call of Bernie Sanders’ Presidential campaign but, as Stephen Davis points out in the video below, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have also attacked Wall Street. Public opinion is clear, so politicians aren’t likely to be strong defenders (at least not in […]
TK Kerstetter of Boardroom Resources, LLC, interviews James McRitchie, Publisher of CorpGov.net and Shareholder Advocate. I’ve pasted TK’s intro and video from Inside America’s Boardrooms below, followed by some additional comments. I hope you enjoy the show. (more…)
How should directors prepare for shareholder activism? That was the underlying question addressed by last week’s SVDX / Rock Center for Corporate Governance joint event – Shareholder Activism: The Good, the Bad or Just Ugly. Shareholder activism is in the news almost every day. How does it play out in Silicon Valley? Is activism beneficial to (some) shareholders in the […]
A North American board governance guru, Dr. Richard LeBlanc is put on the hot seat to discuss key steps to creating a great board—and how investors can know how effective their board really is. LeBlanc and host TK Kerstetter talk about board leadership, board assessments, board recruitment and composition. Kerstetter also quizzes LeBlanc about his […]
At the recent #AllInForImpact SRI Conference – on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing I presented a “Topic Table.” These are informal gatherings of up to 10 people during lunch. Topics are submitted prior to the conference by any registrant who wishes to lead a discussion on an issue related to sustainable, responsible, impact investing. Mine was on […]
Leadership transitions are the ideal time to think about what it means to lead. What is the role of leadership in building the “just and sustainable corporate world” the ICCR community envisions in its mission statement? During an interactive panel on Oct. 1, 2015, five dynamic leaders explored the role of corporate responsibility and the capital […]
As part of my series Retail Shareowners – Facilitating Votes and Activism (see Part 1 and Part 2), I have begun looking more closely at the Australian Shareholders’ Association (ASA). In researching their activities I came across the videos below of interviews with Don Hyatt. Most are somewhat dated but they still provide interesting background. Shareowners in […]