News
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Prologis unveils succession plan for CLO
Ed Nekritz to retire from role in January after three decades with the company Prologis chief legal officer (CLO) Ed Nekritz will retire from his role, effective January 1, 2025. Deborah Briones, who is at present deputy general counsel, will succeed Nekritz, who will continue to be a senior adviser to the company next year. Briones joined Prologis in 2004 as associate counsel before being promoted to successively more senior roles. She was previously an attorney with Latham & Watkins. In her current position she leads the corporate, energy, mobility, Prologis Essentials and Latin America legal teams and government affairs…
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Amazon warehouse working conditions proposal gets significant backing
Resolution seeks independent audit A shareholder proposal seeking a report on warehouse working conditions received the backing of almost a third of votes at Amazon.com’s AGM last week. The proposal, filed by Tulipshare Capital, requests that Amazon’s board ‘commission an independent audit and report of the working conditions and treatment that Amazon warehouse workers face, including the impact of its policies, management, performance metrics and targets.’ It was backed by 31.2 percent of votes cast – not a majority but a level of support governance experts generally regard as significant. Tulipshare writes in its supporting statement: ‘Investigative reports allege a…
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Indigenous Peoples’ rights proposal garners support at JPMorgan AGM
Resolution seeks report on effectiveness of firm’s ‘policies, practices and performance indicators’ Around three in 10 votes cast at JPMorgan Chase & Co’s AGM last week were in favor of a shareholder proposal seeking information about the bank’s efforts in support of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. The resolution filed by the United Church Funds asks JPMorgan Chase’s board to issue a report ‘outlining the effectiveness of [the firm’s] policies, practices and performance indicators in respecting internationally recognized human rights standards for Indigenous Peoples’ rights in its existing and proposed general corporate and project financing.’ According to an SEC filing, 30.4 percent…
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Proposal seeking report on Mondelēz human-rights policy attracts support
Resolution seeks information on policy’s effectiveness in various places, including Ukraine The Wendy’s Company is promoting chief legal officer (CLO) EJ Wunsch to become president of the company’s international business, effective June 17. According to a Wendy’s spokesperson, Wunsch will continue as CLO while transitioning to the firm’s international business until a successor is hired, for which an external search is underway. Wunsch has been CLO since joining Wendy’s in 2016. In that role he has been involved in initiatives across Australia, Asia, Europe and South America. Before joining Wendy’s, he spent 17 years at The Procter & Gamble Company…
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Wendy’s promotes legal chief and seeks successor
EJ Wunsch has been CLO since 2016 Almost one third of votes cast at Mondelēz International’s AGM last week backed a shareholder proposal asking the snack-maker’s board to ‘commission an independent third-party report… assessing the effectiveness of the company’s implementation of its human-rights policy for operations in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRAs), including Russia/Ukraine.’ The resolution, filed by Wespath Funds Trust, seeks information in the report that: Analyzes the effectiveness of the policy’s assessment, mitigation and reporting on human-rights risks in CAHRAs, such as Russia and Ukraine Assesses whether ‘additional policies, practices and governance measures are needed to mitigate risks.’…
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The week in GRC: Norway’s SWF to vote against ExxonMobil director and EU’s landmark AI law to go into effect next month
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – CNBC reported that CalPERS said in an open letter it would vote in opposition to all of ExxonMobil’s 12 director nominees and its CEO, Darren Woods, at the company’s AGM next week as a result of the company’s potentially ‘devastating’ actions against two environmentally focused activist investors, Arjuna Capital and Follow This. The two activists submitted a shareholder proposal requesting that the company reduce direct emissions and set a target for lowering emissions at suppliers and customers. ExxonMobil sued the investors, prompting them to withdraw the proposal but…
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Xcel Energy appoints legal chief
Rob Berntsen was previously chief of staff and general counsel at BHE Renewables Xcel Energy has recruited Rob Berntsen as the company’s executive vice president and chief legal and compliance officer, overseeing the firm’s legal, compliance and corporate secretary and securities teams. Berntsen most recently was senior vice president, chief of staff and general counsel at BHE Renewables, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy business that develops, owns and operates solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric power plants. According to his LinkedIn profile, before that he was senior vice president and general counsel at BHE Infrastructure Group for two years. Berntsen previously worked…
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Lumen hires former Hulu general counsel as CLO
Chad Ho was part of the original management team at Hulu Lumen Technologies has hired Chad Ho as executive vice president and chief legal officer (CLO), effective next month. Ho was part of the original management team at Hulu and spent more than 14 years at the company as general counsel and corporate secretary. Following Hulu’s sale and integration into Disney, he oversaw legal matters for the global business operations across Disney’s TV networks and streaming services. Most recently, Ho was CLO for Sabre Corporation, a travel technology company. Ho succeeds Stacey Goff, who has worked at Lumen and its…
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CVS Health hires ex-American Express attorney as governance chief
Kristina Fink was previously corporate secretary and chief governance officer at the financial services firm Voting at Centene Corporation’s recent AGM has shown significant investor support for a proposal asking the Fortune 500 healthcare company to set science-based goals for tackling climate change and adopt a transition plan. The proposal, filed by John Chevedden, secured 36.1 percent of the votes cast at the May 14 meeting – short of a majority but a level of support governance professionals widely view as significant. The resolution asks Centene to ‘issue near and long-term science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets aligned with the…
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Science-based climate goals proposal attracts support at Centene
More than a third of votes back resolution seeking greenhouse gas reduction targets Kristina Fink has joined CVS Health as senior vice president, chief governance officer and corporate secretary. She joins the firm following seven years at American Express, most recently as vice president, corporate secretary and chief governance officer. She led a team providing governance support to the American Express National Bank, its committees and global subsidiaries, and was a member of the general counsel’s organization and the company’s ESG steering committee. She had earlier held the titles of director, senior corporate governance counsel and assistant secretary, then vice…