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Eastman’s new legal chief to join from Clorox
Iké Adeyemi to join chemicals firm next month Eastman Chemical Company has recruited Iké Adeyemi as senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, effective September 9. Adeyemi will join Eastman having most recently been vice president, corporate secretary and associate general counsel at The Clorox Company. In that role, she has overseen legal support for corporate governance, corporate, finance, tax and treasury matters, SEC reporting, ethics and compliance, global trade compliance and enterprise risk management, among other responsibilities. According to her LinkedIn profile, she has held that position since December 2020, having joined Clorox in December 2018. Before…
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Preparing boards and companies for today’s enforcement environment
Adam Goldberg, David Oliwenstein and Tony Phillips provide advice on mitigating the risk of legal violations and being ready for an investigation The US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the SEC have in recent years ramped up corporate enforcement in the areas of cyber-security, AI, financial crime, corruption, sanctions and trade controls. This impacts public and private companies and they – along with their boards – face increasingly complex legal and compliance obligations. SEC and DoJ priorities The available metrics confirm that enforcement authorities are taking an increasingly aggressive approach to policing corporate misconduct. In 2022, the SEC imposed combined…
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The week in GRC: Judge blocks FTC non-compete rule and Democrats to continue push for AI legislation
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – CNBC reported that activist investor Carl Icahn and his company agreed to pay $2 mn to settle SEC allegations that he failed to disclose billions of dollars’ worth of personal margin loans pledged against the value of his Icahn Enterprises stock. Icahn and the publicly traded company that bears his name settled without admitting or denying wrongdoing, agreeing to pay $500,000 and $1.5 mn, respectively, in fines. The SEC said Icahn pledged between 51 percent and 82 percent of Icahn Enterprises’ shares outstanding to secure billions of dollars…
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Vanguard hires KPMG general counsel
Tonya Robinson was previously acting general counsel of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Vanguard has hired Tonya Robinson as general counsel and managing director of its legal division. Robinson, who will join Vanguard in October, will be responsible for all legal and compliance activities, public policy and investment stewardship. She will also be secretary of the Vanguard board and Vanguard funds. Robinson is joining the firm from KPMG, where she has been vice chair and general counsel for legal, regulatory and compliance since 2017. Before moving to KPMG, Robinson was acting general counsel of the US Department…
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How boards can confront fraud head-on
Amy Rojik offers advice on proactive risk-management strategies amid evolving dangers Boards must be proactive about fraud prevention, detection and mitigation, and should be vigilant about emerging risks even while they maintain oversight of traditional issues. The advent of new technologies, digital currencies, complex supply chains, economic pressures and geopolitical instability are just some of the many evolving risk areas that can foster environments conducive to fraud. There are various measures boards can undertake to mitigate fraud risk. Building a culture of compliance and transparency, overseeing risk management, understanding the elements conducive to fraud and strengthening internal controls and compliance…
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Rolls-Royce names general counsel for North America
Kimberly Hicks to also lead company’s worldwide defense general counsel team Rolls-Royce has promoted Kimberly Hicks to become general counsel for defense and Rolls-Royce North America (RRNA). Hicks, who is based in Washington, DC, now leads the company’s global defense general counsel team and oversees other general counsel team members located in the US. She also joins the RRNA board, which is accountable for oversight of Rolls-Royce’s special security agreement with the US Department of Defense. Hicks has been interim general counsel for defense and RRNA since January 2024. Before joining Rolls-Royce in 2022 as assistant general counsel, she led…
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This summer’s reading list got longer with the EU dropping CSRD guidance
European Commission white paper aims to provide more clarity to companies If you are heading off to or on your summer vacation and in search of the next thrilling read, look no further than the European Commission’s (EC) latest release: the FAQs on CSRD. That’s right, the commission picked the popular vacation month of August to drop a 52-page document including 90 questions and answers that aim to resolve any doubts you may have about CSRD and the related European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The Q&A appeared online at a time when, even if you are not on vacation, you…
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The week in GRC: NBIM says boards need more AI competence and Elliott plans proxy fight at Southwest Airlines
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported that Starbucks appointed Chipotle Mexican Grill CEO Brian Niccol as its next leader. The company said Niccol would start as CEO and executive chair of its board on September 9. Current Starbucks chief Laxman Narasimhan has stepped down as CEO and board director after roughly 16 months on the job. Mellody Hobson, Starbucks’s executive chair since 2021, said the company started discussing a leadership change roughly two months ago and contacted Niccol. Hobson, who will become lead independent director, said the decision…
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Target hires new legal chief
Amy Tu was most recently chief administrative officer at Tyson Foods Target Corporation has recruited Amy Tu as chief legal and compliance officer and corporate secretary, effective August 25. She succeeds Don Liu, who had announced his upcoming retirement and will move into a strategic advisory role. Tu is joining Target having most recently been group president for international markets and chief administrative officer at Tyson Foods. She began work at Tyson in 2017 as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary before becoming chief legal officer, secretary and head of global governance and corporate affairs. According to her…
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How boards should implement the SEC’s clawback rule
Jane Storero explains the practical steps boards and compensation committees need to take In June 2023, the SEC approved a new exchange listing standard for public companies under the Dodd-Frank Act that was adopted by the NYSE and Nasdaq to require listed companies to adopt a clawback policy by December 1, 2023. This policy applies to incentive-based compensation erroneously received by executive officers during the three years prior to an accounting restatement. Now that companies have adopted a clawback policy and filed it as an exhibit to the annual report, boards and compensation committees must determine how to oversee the…