Governance Fundamentals: Understanding Your Company’s Mechanics and Benchmarking. That was the title of the final spring 2019 SVDX/Rock Center program at Stanford Law on April 18. My cryptic notes below. (more…)
Tag Archives | Rock Center for Corporate Governance
Activism, Short-Termism and Corporate Governance
Silicon Valley companies continue to be the leading target for “activism, short-termism and corporate governance.” Directors of some Silicon Valley companies believe these activists are too short-term focused, while some institutional investors believe the activists create value for all shareholders. One response to the growth of activism has been the adoption by some high-profile tech […]
Governance Lessons from Wells Fargo
Tone at the Bottom: Governance Lessons from Wells Fargo That was the advertised title for the program co-sponsored by the Rock Center for Corporate Governance and the Silicon Valley Directors Exchange. (Sign up to be on the SVDX mailing list.) After the program, I am still not convinced the real governance lesson from Wells Fargo (ticker: […]
Video: Heads or Tails? The Art and Science of Executive Compensation
All directors are keenly aware of their responsibility in setting executive and CEO compensation. Increased external pressure on — and opinions about — CEO pay and more crowded meeting agendas limit the available time for meaningful discussion and make this role more challenging than ever. The stakes in getting executive compensation right are high, with […]
Heads Or Tails? The Art And Science Of Executive Compensation
I thought the title of the program referred to heads I win, tails you lose. Now, I’m thinking ‘art’ is one side of the compensation committee coin, ‘science’ the other. Titles that keep us on our toes – just like the programs held by the Silicon Valley Directors Exchange and the Rock Center for Corporate […]
Strange Bedfellows: From Icahn to Ican't
The Rock Center for Corporate Governance and the NACD Northern California Chapter hosted a conversation between Professor Joe Grundfest and dragon slayer Anne Simpson, Director of Corporate Governance at CalPERS, about how Apple and CalPERS ended up on the same side in a shareholder activism showdown. (more…)
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon
On January 14th I attended another great event at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance. It was a dialogue between Professor Dan Siciliano, Faculty Director of the Rock Center and Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. There was plenty of opportunity for audience participation… many getting in two questions. […]
Video Friday: SVDX Upcoming Event – Got Technology Chops?
If you don’t speak Geek, you’re not a competent director. Have you heard of “Big Data,” but aren’t sure what it really means (or how much it has to do with your industry)? Do you keep seeing articles about cyber-security, but couldn’t describe the difference between SQL-injection and a brute-force (hacking) attack, if your life […]
Shareholder Lawsuits: Where is the Line between Legitimate and Frivolous?
Larcker, David F. and Tayan, Brian, Shareholder Lawsuits: Where is the Line between Legitimate and Frivolous? (November 27, 2012). Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University Closer Look Series: Topics, Issues and Controversies in Corporate Governance and Leadership No. CGRP- 29. Available on SSRN. Shareholders of public companies are not responsible for designing executive compensation […]
Video Friday: Use of Social Media By Senior & Board Level Executives is Pitiful
Less than a third of companies today use social media to support their corporate strategy and risk management practices, according to new research conducted by Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, the Center for Leadership Development and Research at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and The Conference Board. What Do Corporate Directors and Senior Managers Know about […]
SVNACD Event: M&A Pitfalls for Directors
M&A activity is on the rise, and recent decisions by the Delaware Chancery Court make the stakes for directors higher than ever. The businesspersons and lawyers on this panel offered plenty of insights about the life-cycle of a current M&A transaction from initial market check to consummation and then follow-up litigation, pointing out the all-too-frequent […]
Shareholder Activism: Stanford Rock – Part 2 of 3
This was the second in a three part overview of shareholder activism, beginning with the history and an overview of the key players in the space; continuing with a behind-the-scenes look at non-contentious shareholder engagement and how its impacting companies and the market; and ending with an overview of proxy fights, PR wars and activist […]
Shareholder Activism: Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance Series – Part 1 of 3
Mason Morfit, a partner at ValueAct Capital and one of the most successful shareholder activists in the US, according to the Rock Center announcement, and Abe Friedman, of CJB Capital Management (former Global Head of Corporate Governance & (more…)