News
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People moves: Chipotle promotes Ilene Eskenazi to hybrid legal role
Plus FuelCell Energy, SPX Technologies and Knight-Swift Transportation grow their legal teams NYSE-listed Chipotle Mexican Grill has confirmed the promotion of Ilene Eskenazi, formerly chief human resources officer, to a new joint role of chief legal and human resources officer. She succeedsRoger Theodoredis, who has retired from his role as chief legal officer and general counsel but will remain with the company in an advisory role to support the transition. Before joining Chipotle in 2023, Eskenazi held joint roles as chief legal and human resources officer at the likes of Petco Health and Wellness Company, Boardriders andRed Bull North America.…
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Corporate Governance Awards 2025: On the red carpet with Gibson Dunn
Lori Zyskowski shares her thoughts on the biggest issues facing governance professionals in 2026 Governance Intelligence recently presented its18th annual Corporate Governance Awardsat a gala ceremony this past November in New York City. Live from the red carpet, we spoke with several esteemed guests from across the world of GRC, including Lori Zyskowski, partner at Gibson Dunn Zyskowski reflects on the biggest opportunities and challenges of 2025, what she would be looking for if she were to be a judge for the awards and what’s top of mind heading into 2026. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements by the governance profession…
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Corporate Governance Awards 2025: On the red carpet with Skadden
Brian Breheny gives his thoughts on biggest M&A trends of 2025 Governance Intelligence recently presented its18th annual Corporate Governance Awardsat a gala ceremony this past November in New York City. Live from the red carpet, we spoke with several esteemed guests from across the world of GRC, includingBrian Breheny, partnerat Skadden. Brehenytalked to Governance Intelligence about his thoughts on in-house counsel and how they add value to a deal, as well as what he would look for an in a Best Corporate Transaction award entry. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements by the governance profession in areas such as hosting AGMs,…
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Beyond the quarter: Rethinking corporate reporting in the US
Amid a growing debate over the future of quarterly reporting, experts are weighing what a slower cadence of disclosure could mean for companies, markets and the investors who rely on them As policymakers and corporate leaders debate the future of quarterly financial reporting in the US, a significant shift looms over how public companies communicate with investors and how they are held accountable. Beginning in 1970, the US has required its public companies to report its earnings every three months. Any previous attempts to cut this back has been met with opposition from shareholders and industry groups who argue that…
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The week in GRC: JPMorgan Chase dumps proxy advisors for internal AI tool as Elliott builds stake in Lululemon
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has quietly built a stake of more than $1 bn in Lululemon Athletica, becoming one of the athletic apparel maker’s largest shareholders, sources told The Wall Street Journal (paywall). The move comes as Lululemon navigates slowing sales and a leadership transition after CEO Calvin McDonald said he would step down in January. Investors have grown concerned about product quality issues, heavy discounting and a loss of brand momentum. Elliott is pushing for change at the company, including backing veteran retail chief Jane Nielsen…
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A material focus: BlackRock refocuses its 2026 voting stance in a tumultuous proxy landscape
BlackRock’s updates its stewardship expectations for 2026 following criticism of its decarbonization plans in New York BlackRock will renew its focus on long-term financial performance and take a more pragmatic approach to environmental policies at investee companies in 2026, according to its updated US Stewardship guidelines for 2026, as proxy advisers and companies continue to react to political pressure. The revisions arrive after the asset manager received public criticism from New York City comptroller Brad Lander, who in 2025 urged city pension boards to consider dropping BlackRock, Fidelity and PanAgora over what he described as inadequate decarbonization plans. Against that…
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People moves: Ford promotes Sarah Fortt to chief compliance officer
Plus, Meta, ServiceNow and Huntsman welcome new legal heads Ford Motor Company has promoted Sarah Fortt to the position of chief compliance officer in addition to her role as deputy general counsel and corporate secretary. Fortt joined the company in 2025, prior to which she served as partner at firm Latham & Watkins. In a LinkedIn post Fortt says: ‘I have long encouraged close collaborations between the corporate governance and corporate compliance functions – these two fundamental legal practices are quite literally a match made in the boardroom. ‘To my global colleagues in Ford’s corporate securities, governance and compliance teams,…
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How AI will redefine compliance, risk and governance in 2026
As regulatory pressure intensifies and AI becomes embedded across the enterprise, industry leaders share their thoughts on how this will evolve in the new year When we spoke to governance leaders about their predictions for the wider GRC profession in 2026, their answers were less about distant hypotheticals and more about responding to forces already reshaping how organizations operate. Whether these commentators sit in AI, governance, compliance, transformation, board oversight or enterprise risk, there is a shared view that incremental change will not be enough. The coming year will force organizations to rethink fundamentals rather than refine the margins. Below,…
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New York’s GHG rule puts boards in the climate hot seat
New York’s new emissions reporting rule is about to shake up how companies track responsibility, risk and reputation, but the biggest changes may unfold beyond the compliance desk December saw the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) finalize regulations establishing the state’s Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program under Part 253 of the environmental code. This program will require specified entities to annually measure and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and related data to DEC, with the first reports covering emissions from calendar year 2026 due by June 1, 2027. The program is a core component of implementing the…
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What you read in 2025: Deregulation, DEI rollbacks and the rise of boardroom control
Governance Intelligence looks back on the most read stories of 2025 and what that means for changing governance priorities Nasdaq-listed Gilead Sciences has named Keeley Wettan as its EVP, general counsel, legal and compliance. Effective immediately, she will join the company’s senior leadership team and report to chairman and CEO Daniel O’Day. Wettan has been with Gilead for 14 years, during which time she has held a number of senior legal leadership roles, most recently as SVP leading the global legal business partners team. Before that, she led the litigation and government investigations and the corporate governance and strategic transactions…