Update: Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced that its Board of Directors has amended the Company’s By-Laws to require the separation of the Chairman and CEO roles and for the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board to be independent directors. The Board approved the By-Law amendments, which are effective immediately, on November […]
Most people don’t like their behavior criticized. CEOs and boards almost always fight my proxy proposals aimed at improving corporate governance. I wasn’t happy with the Deal Professor’s criticisms of my shareowner activism in his August 19th NYTimes article, Grappling With the Cost of Corporate Gadflies. He also criticizes John Chevedden and William Steiner. I stewed for days […]
GMI Ratings, the leading provider of research, data and analytics on environmental, social, governance (ESG) and forensic accounting risks affecting the performance of public companies, is introducing Accounting and Governance Risk (AGR®) ratings on over 9,000 companies in nearly 60 emerging market countries. GMI’s AGR ratings capture a variety of accounting irregularities and corporate governance […]
MSCI Inc. (MSCI) announced it has agreed to acquire GMI Ratings, a provider of ESG (environmental, social and governance) ratings and research to institutional investors, through its subsidiary MSCI ESG Research Inc. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Said Remy Briand, Managing Director and Head of […]
The CSP (CSPI) annual shareowners meeting is coming up February 11, 2014, so there isn’t much time to vote. Since most readers are not familiar with this obscure company, I’ll start with a description from GMI Ratings: CSP Inc. (CSPI) along with its subsidiaries, develops and markets information technology (IT) integration solutions and high-performance cluster […]
Shareowner activist John Chevedden suggested the first nomination for a company avoiding its owners this proxy season. (more…)
Writing in the March/April edition of The Corporate Board, Nell Minow titles her latest bit of advice, The Unfinished Business of Corporate Governance. Here’s the lead in: After a decade of frantic corporate governance reform, business leaders may believe that governance has reached the pinnacle of responsibility and effectiveness. Not so fast, says Nell Minow, […]
GMI Ratings announced today the launch of an enhanced version of its flagship product, GMI Analyst, an integrated web-based platform providing research on environmental, social, governance (ESG) and accounting-related risks affecting the performance of public companies. According to Ric Marshall, GMI Ratings’ Chief Analyst and Director of Development, (more…)
GMI Ratings signed a licensing agreement with Global Index Group to develop corporate governance indices. The new set of indices will incorporate non-traditional risk metrics developed by GMI Ratings. (more…)
In theory, throwing out current directors and/or electing new candidates through their proxy votes is the most important function of shareowners with respect to corporate governance. That’s how we hold our agents accountable. In practice, shareowners look like powerless wimps, even at companies with majority or plurality plus resignation election standards. At least that is […]
GMI Ratings released today its third study this year of gender diversity on corporate boards of directors. The current study provides a comprehensive quantitative state-by-state analysis of gender diversity on the boards of Russell 3000 companies headquartered in the 50 U.S. states. (more…)
GMI Ratings reports that combined CEO/chairmen cost more, present higher ESG and accounting risk, and provide lower long-term shareholder returns than if the positions are separated. Expect this report to be cited by shareowner proposals next season seeking to split the positions. (more…)