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Bristol-Myers Squibb veteran general counsel to retire
Sandra Leung has been with the company for more than three decades Sandra Leung, executive president and general counsel at Bristol-Myers Squibb, plans to retire from her position during 2025. According to a company spokesperson, Cari Gallman will be her successor with the transition expected to occur later this year. Gallman’s new title will be executive vice president, general counsel and chief policy officer. An SEC filing from the biopharmaceutical firm states that Leung is expected to remain with Bristol-Myers Squibb to help with the transition of her duties. Leung’s LinkedIn profile states that she took on her current role…
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SiriusXM hires former Airbnb top lawyer
Richard Baer has also been CLO at Liberty Media and UnitedHealth Group SiriusXM Holdings has hired Richard Baer as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective March 3. He will succeed Patrick Donnelly, who is retiring. Baer is a former chief legal officer (CLO) at Airbnb, where he oversaw the company’s legal, community policy and ethics and compliance functions. Before joining Airbnb, Baer was CLO at Liberty Media, UnitedHealth Group and Qwest Communications. A SiriusXM SEC filing last month stated that, to help with the transition, Donnelly would continue to be a full-time employee until April 4, 2025…
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AMC veteran to retire as general counsel
Kevin Connor has been with the movie theater company since 2002 Kevin Connor, senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary with movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, will retire from the company effective March 13 after more than two decades. AMC has appointed Edwin Gladbach, vice president for legal, as interim general counsel and corporate secretary. According to an AMC statement, the company will decide on its pick for the long-term general counsel position later in the year, with both external and internal candidates including Gladbach, being considered. Connor joined AMC in 2002 and has been involved in major…
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SEC nixes 14a-8 guidance that widened path for ESG proposals
‘[This] moves the goalposts smack dab in the middle of this year’s shareholder proposal process,’ says commissioner Caroline Crenshaw The SEC has dropped Biden-era guidance on the parameters by which companies may seek the agency’s go-ahead to exclude shareholder proposals from their proxy statements. It is a move that will likely lead to fewer ESG-related resolutions making their way to a vote at future AGMs and comes as many companies are awaiting word from the agency on whether they will have to face certain proposals at their 2025 meetings. Many governance experts had predicted that the division would take such…
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SEC seeks pause in litigation over climate disclosure rule
Agency had been defending the rule but Republican commissioners oppose it Acting SEC chair Mark Uyeda has asked an appeals court to pause litigation over the agency’s high-profile climate risk disclosure rule. The commission adopted the rule on a 3-2 vote last March. It has subsequently been challenged in litigation consolidated in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The SEC under former chair Gary Gensler, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, had stayed the effectiveness of the rule pending an outcome to the litigation in which it defended the rule. Uyeda and fellow Republican commissioner Hester Peirce have long…
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The week in GRC: Trump pauses FCPA enforcement and Missouri AG sues Starbucks over DEI policies
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The BBC reported that President Trump halted enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) that allows the prosecution of Americans accused of bribing foreign officials. The law prohibits US companies from trying to retain or win new business with other countries by bribing government figures. A White House statement said ‘over-expansive’ and ‘unpredictable’ enforcement of the FCPA risked the ‘economic advancement of the US.’ Trump has also directed US authorities to review current and past actions related to the law and to find new guidelines for the…
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A pared-back CSRD might sound good, but ESG-minded investors won’t be happy
Suggestions that EU legislation may be watered down in upcoming Omnibus package So much for double materiality. Rumors have been swirling around ESG-focused news outlets that the European Commission is expected to ‘heavily water down’ the requirements of its landmark CSRD and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) legislations in its upcoming Omnibus package. Reported changes to CSRD could include making companies with less than 1,000 employees exempt from having to report under the regulation, estimated to mean that around 85 percent of firms covered by the directive would no longer be in scope. Other aspects at risk include the…
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Is DEI dead or alive at US companies this proxy season?
Domenick deRobertis says the situation is more complex than some headlines suggest – and that the language of DEI demands subtlety Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Over recent times, the acronym has become inescapable – and corporate life is no exception. That’s obvious from the numbers, with research by WorldatWork finding that 83 percent of organizations have embraced DEI policies. Yet with the US Supreme Court ruling against DEI in 2023, and Americans lately electing a president fiercely opposed to the underlying ideology, corporate diversity schemes now look increasingly fragile. That’s certainly reflected by the many multinationals retreating from DEI,…
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Advance Auto Parts names new general counsel
Jeff Vining to succeed company veteran Tammy Finley, who is retiring NYSE-listed Advance Auto Parts has appointed Jeff Vining as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective March 2. He will report to Shane O’Kelly, president and CEO. Vining will succeed Tammy Finley, who is retiring and will stay with Advance in an advisory capacity as part of the transition. According to his LinkedIn profile, Vining is joining Advance from Unifi Manufacturing, where he has been general counsel and corporate secretary. Before that he spent 15 years at Lowe’s Corporation, most recently five years as senior vice president,…
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The week in GRC: Google drops DEI hiring targets and Treasury secretary orders work freeze at CFPB
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ordered a stop to work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) after being named its acting director by President Trump, who had removed Biden appointee Rohit Chopra. In an internal email, Bessent’s office directed CFPB staff to cease much of the bureau’s work, including on enforcement actions and decisions about active litigation. The email also instructs staff to suspend the effective dates for rules that had been completed but are not yet in effect. Bessent’s appointment is…