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People moves: Legal head of Elon Musk’s AI venture resigns as Galaxy Digital appoints former Cognizant and Chevron exec
PNC, PPG and Cognizant also bolster their senior governance teams Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based banking company PNC Financial Services Group has made two appointments to its legal and risk teams. As of September 8, Amy Wierenga will serve as chief risk officer and will join PNC’s executive committee. Wierenga currently serves as head of financial and model risk for IRM, before which she worked for BlueMountain Capital Management as partner, chief risk officer and head of risk and portfolio construction. Reporting to directly to chairman and CEO William Demchak in her new role, Wierenga succeeds Kieran Fallon, who is moving into a…
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The art of engagement: how to build lasting shareholder relationships
Political pressure and regulatory change pose a challenge to IR and governance teams Shareholder engagement remains a top priority for companies navigating today’s complex capital markets. Proactively engaging key shareholders allows companies to communicate their long-term strategies, explain operational decisions and develop and strengthen relationships with this key stakeholder group. This need for engagement has only grown amid unstable economic conditions, including supply chain issues, inflation, tariffs, trade tensions and related market volatility. Recent anti-DE&I and anti-ESG movements, executive orders issued by the new US administration, changing proxy advisory firm policies and renewed efforts by shareholder activists all underscore the…
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The week in GRC: BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard lawsuit advances to discovery as Tesla approves Musk’s bumper pay package
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web —Earlier this week, Tesla issued 96 million new shares to CEO Elon Musk, valued at around $29 bn. The issuance comes as the company tries to keep the entrepreneur happy and focused on the business, amid his recent political activities. ‘While we recognize Elon’s business ventures, interests and other potential demands on his time and attention are extensive and wide-ranging … we are confident that this award will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla,’ the special committee wrote in an SEC filing. As reported by Reuters (paywall), in 2024…
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Boards grapple with AI as governance team struggle to define oversight
AI has huge potential but many governance teams are still struggling to manage the risks Agentic AI is expected to drive a leap in productivity and innovation. But how can companies harness its potential without risking their values, security or profits? The Financial Reporting Council’s latest Review of Corporate Governance report reveals that 73 percent of companies are now addressing AI in boardroom discussions, whether it’s about risk, opportunities or operational integration. Meanwhile, ISS Corporate’s analysis of S&P 500 proxy statements shows a dramatic increase in board-level AI oversight: there’s an 84 percent jump in AI-related board disclosures between 2023…
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People moves: GoPro promotes Jason Stephen while Lennar brings in former DOJ lawyer
Lennar, Republic Bank and Danahe also welcome new legal chiefs GoPro, the American technology company, has promoted Jason Stephen to the role of vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, replacing Eve Saltman. The news comes following a Form 8-K securitiesfiling confirming that Saltman was stepping down from her role to pursue other opportunities. Before the promotion, Stephen acted as deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary for the company. Meanwhile, sporting goods retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has selected Brandy Treadwayas its new EVP, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Treadway joins from RumbleOn, where she served as SVP,…
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‘An open-minded and collaborative approach is crucial’: The Chicago Network’s Maria Doughty on creating an effective board
Doughty will speak at the Corporate Governance Forum 2025 in New York Ahead of the Corporate Governance Forum 2025, which will take place in New York on Thursday, November 6, Governance Intelligence has spoken to some of the event’s leading speakers to find out what they see as the emerging corporate governance trends of 2025. Maria Doughty is the president and CEO of women’s leadership non-profit The Chicago Network, as well as a member of the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a member of the board of trustees of Roosevelt University. Set to speak…
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The week in GRC: SEC launches tokenization initiative as Glass Lewis and ISS sue Texas over DE&I and ESG law
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web —The SEC has announced plans to launch Project Crypto, an initiative to modernize securities rules and regulations to allow for crypto-based trading, as reported by CNBC. At the America First Policy Institute in Washington, SEC Chair Paul Atkins said: ‘I look forward to working with my counterparts across the administration to make the United States the crypto capital of the world’ adding that ‘this represents more than a regulatory shift—it is a generational opportunity’. The announcement comes following a surge of investor interest in tokenization, with BlackRockCEO Larry Fink…
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Despite political noise, the stats clearly show the anti-DE&I movement does not have shareholder support
The movement fell flat in 2025’s proxy season with most proposals receiving less than 2 percent investor backing Shareholders sent companies a clear message this proxy season: anti-DE&I proposals do not have their backing. At 30 of the largest US companies, together worth over $13 trn, every anti-DE&I proposal was rejected, with most receivingless than 2 percent supportfrom investors, according to nonprofit Impactivize. These proposals, which aimed to roll back corporate DE&I efforts, made upabout 40 percent of all DE&I-related proposalsthis year, a sharp increase from 23 percent in 2024. Despite growing political pressure against DE&I and ESG initiatives, shareholders…
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People moves: Unilever appoints legal team for ice cream company spin-off
Plus Warner Bros Discovery, Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank grow their respective teams Unilever, the global consumer goods company, has made three senior appointments to the legal teams of its soon-to-be separated ice cream business. In a move announced in 2024, Unilever will spin off its ice cream business into a standalone company called The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which has a public listing planned forQ4 2025. Under the restructuring Vanessa Vilar has been appointed chief legal officer for The Magnum Ice Cream Company. Before the promotion she served as group general counsel, ice cream at Unilever. Meanwhile, Natalia Cavaliere…
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The week in GRC: The SEC continues climate rule court case as Macquarie reviews exec compensation
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web —The SEC has told the US Court of Appeals that it will not review or reconsider its climate disclosure rules for companies and has requested the court to rule on pending legal challenges. The SEC comments form part of a status report provided by the regulator, in response to a request made by the Eighth Circuit court in April. Before the court’s request, Mark Uyeda, acting chairman of the SEC, hadalready saidthat the Commission would end its legal defense of the rules, without actually having to rescind the rules.…