News
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As the 2025 proxy season ends, it’s time to think about next year’s statement
The proxy statement has evolved to become more than just a regulatory fulfilment Former Trump official CJ Mahoney has been promoted within Microsoft, announcing on LinkedIn that he has been named as the firm’s General Counsel, ‘leading the talented team of lawyers, paralegals and business professionals who support the company’s engineering, sales and marketing efforts.’ Mahoney joined Microsoft in early 2021, coming from a two-year stint in government during President Donald Trump’s first term. Mahoney served as Deputy United States Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President from March 2018 to December 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.…
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James Pelletier takes up general counsel post at JBT Marel
Former Kymera and Masonite lawyer to join at the end of June Former Kymera and Masonite legal counsel James Pelletier has taken up a new position at JBT Marel. Pelletier will join the NYSE and Nasdaq Iceland-listed technology company, which provides solutions and services to the food and beverage industry, on June 30. He has ‘more than two decades of legal and business leadership experience,’ a press release from JBT Marel states, noting that Pelletier most recently served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at specialty metals and coatings maker Kymera. Prior to that, Pelletier held roles including senior…
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The week in GRC: Pension funds demand that Elon Musk work a 40-hour week at Tesla
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – A collection of pension funds has demanded that Elon Musk commit to working at least 40 hours a week at electric car maker Tesla, calling for corporate governance reforms to address a ‘crisis’ at the company, according to the Financial Times (paywall). A letter sent to Tesla’s chair Robyn Denholm and signed by 12 institutional investors, including the New York City Comptroller, the American Federation of Teachers and Denmark’s AkademikerPension, who jointly manage a total of $950 bn in assets, demands Musk’s ‘full-time attention’ on Tesla to address…
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Scholastic promotes Chris Lick to the top of the class
Former senior vice president and deputy general counsel to succeed Andrew Hedden Children’s publishing and media company Scholastic has promoted Chris Lick, formerly senior vice president and deputy general counsel, to take over as its new executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Lick replaces Andrew Hedden, who previously served as general counsel for 17 years and recently announced his retirement. Hedden will hold the role of senior counselor in the interim. In his new position, Lick will provide strategic legal counsel for the Nasdaq-listed firm and its board of directors both in the US and abroad. This includes…
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Frankenmuth Insurance brings in State Farm lawyer as chief legal officer
Kelly Ott brings more than 30 years of experience to the role Frankenmuth Insurance has brought in a former State Farm lawyer as its new chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Kelly Ott has joined the Frankenmuth, Michigan-based firm effective from April 28, and will serve as its top legal advisory, overseeing corporate legal matters, governance and regulatory compliance across the company and its subsidiaries. She will also serve as Frankenmuth’s corporate secretary, overseeing board procedures and supporting various executive committees. Ott brings more than 30 years of experience in private practice and in-house legal leadership, according to a press…
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EDGAR Next: what public companies need to do before September 15
New SEC filing rules represent a significant shift EDGAR Next represents the most significant shift in SEC filing access in over two decades. Beginning September 15, 2025, public companies must transition to a more secure, role-based access system that replaces shared credentials with individuallogin.govaccounts. Failure to comply may result in loss of filing access and missed disclosure deadlines. To avoid disruptions in filing access, enrollment should be completed between March 24 and September 12, 2025. Although the enrollment window remains open until December 19, filings cannot be submitted until the process is finalized, potentially delaying time-sensitive disclosures. Filers who do…
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The Week in GRC: Amazon proposals voted down as US AGM season hits its peak
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Thursday May 22 marked the peak of the US AGM season, according to ISS Corporate analysis, with 137 Russell 3000 companies convening shareholders – more than any other day this year. This milestone comes amid a notable decline in shareholder proposal submissions and a sharp rise in omissions, driven in part by new SEC guidance requiring greater economic relevance. – At its 2025 shareholder meeting, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy defended the company’s aggressive $100 bn investment in artificial intelligence, positioning it as essential to competing with Microsoft and…
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Talking DEI under Trump 2.0: how anti-woke investors are hijacking pro-ESG proposals
Award-winning IR professionals from Sofi and Ford share their experiences on the DEI tightrope, with clear lessons for the Governance Intelligence community US software maker Adobe has named Louise Pentland as its new chief legal officer, replacing interim legal head Gloria Chen and former general counsel Dana Rao, who departed the company last year. Pentland joins the San Jose, California-based company from streaming service Roku, where she served as general counsel after joining in July 2024. Prior to that, she worked as chief counsel for the Walt Disney Company’s Experiences division, which oversees the media giant’s theme parks, cruise operations…
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Adobe appoints former Disney and Roku lawyer Pentland as CLO
Software giant names replacement for departed general counsel Dana Rao What does DEI mean to you? Here at IR Impact, we’ve stopped spelling out diversity, equity and inclusion, working under the assumption that this most tricky of news items is known to all. But it seems that other interpretations exist – on the White House official X account for example, where a post was recently put out stating ‘the only DEI we support is Deport Every Illegal’. That very much sums up the kind of narrative companies are up against with today’s very public broadly anti-ESG and specifically anti-DEI rhetoric.…
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Nominations are now open for the Corporate Governance Awards 2025
Submit your entries before July 25 to be considered Nominations for this year’s Corporate Governance Awards, brought to you by Governance Intelligence, are now open for submissions. On Thursday, November 6, 2025 hundreds of industry professionals from the governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) community will come together to honor the outstanding achievements that are shaping the future of the industry at the Oscars of Corporate Governance. The Corporate Governance Awards 2025 will recognize the best and the brightest in the GRC world, honoring those who set new standards of excellence, integrity and innovation. They cover many areas of governance-related activity,…