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GM hires former Activision Blizzard legal chief
Grant Dixton is also a former Boeing general counsel General Motors (GM) has hired Grant Dixton as executive vice president and chief legal and public policy officer, effective July 15. Dixton most recently was chief legal officer of Activision Blizzard, a role he took on in 2021. Before that he spent 15 years at Boeing, during which time he held several executive-level positions, including most recently general counsel and corporate secretary. Earlier in his career, Dixton was associate counsel to former president George W Bush from 2003 to 2006, a role in which he provided legal advice on domestic policy…
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AI ethics proposal attracts support among Netflix shareholders
Resolution seeks information about board oversight More than four in 10 votes at Netflix’s AGM backed a shareholder proposal seeking information about the company’s use of AI. Multiple companies have faced investor interest in the technology this proxy season. The proposal, filed by AFL-CIO Equity Index Funds via Segal Marco Advisors, garnered 43.3 percent of votes cast, according to an SEC filing. Although not a majority such a level of support is widely seen as significant by governance experts. Segal Marco Advisors filed similar proposals at Apple and The Walt Disney company this year. The resolution at Apple was backed…
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Lobbying proposal at Caterpillar follows pattern of attracting support
Resolution is latest to gain significant backing at AGMs this election year Securing retail shareholder approval during corporate transactions can be a tricky task for companies, especially those with a large base of mom-and-pop investors. Retail shareholders are typically indifferent to voting and making them interested is one of the hurdles. Compounding that is often a lack of financial literacy and different regulatory constraints, which make it harder for companies to find out who their retail investors are. In this article, we look at how to effectively secure retail investor votes during mergers, acquisitions or other corporate transactions, drawing insights…
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Cracking the code: Winning retail investor approval in M&A
Expert strategies for securing retail investor votes Almost a quarter of votes at Caterpillar’s AGM were in favor of a proposal seeking information about the company’s lobbying. The resolution garnered 23 percent of the votes cast. That level of support, despite not being a majority and being lower than the 29 percent of the vote it received at Caterpillar’s 2023 AGM, is widely viewed as significant by governance experts. Other lobbying disclosure proposals have this year gained significant support at Morgan Stanley (31.2 percent of votes cast), Verizon Communications (34.6 percent) and Goldman Sachs (39.4 percent). Shareholders have been voting…
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The week in GRC: Judge dismisses ExxonMobil lawsuit against shareholder activist
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported that Adidas said it is investigating potential compliance violations in China after receiving a letter alleging senior executives in the country received millions of dollars in kickbacks from service providers. Adidas said it is now investigating the matter with external legal counsel. ‘Adidas takes allegations of possible compliance violations very seriously and is clearly committed to complying with legal and internal regulations and ethical standards in all markets where we operate,’ a spokesperson said. – Reuters (paywall) reported that US District Court…
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Seagate Technology appoints legal chief
Jim Lee was previously general counsel and corporate secretary at Maxar Technologies Mass-capacity data storage company Seagate Technology Holdings has appointed Jim Lee as senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Lee previously spent five years as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at space technology company Maxar Technologies. According to an announcement from Seagate, during his tenure with Maxar Lee had a successful litigation track record and played a key role in multiple transactions. Before Maxar, Lee spent almost 15 years at Aramark Corporation where he held leadership roles of increasing responsibility. According to his…
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Anti-harassment report proposal attracts support among Tesla shareholders
State of New York Comptroller requested information on company’s efforts Almost a third of votes cast at Tesla’s AGM last week backed a shareholder proposal seeking information on the electric vehicle company’s work against harassment and discrimination. The resolution was filed by Thomas DiNapoli, comptroller of the State of New York and trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund. It asks that Tesla’s board oversee the preparation of an annual public report ‘describing and quantifying the effectiveness and outcomes of [the company’s] efforts to prevent harassment and discrimination against its protected classes of employees.’ The proposal suggests the…
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Judges announced for Corporate Governance Awards, with submissions due July 26
Distinguished panel will review outstanding work by governance professionals Governance Intelligence has announced the panel of judges who will preside over the 17th Corporate Governance Awards, for which submissions are due by July 26. The distinguished industry experts who will decide the winners of this years’ honors are: Emma Butler, manager for investment stewardship at Dimensional Fund Advisors Jacqueline Condron, senior vice president for proxy voting & governance at Mellon, a division of Mellon Investments Corporation Joan Conley, board member at EJF Acquisition Corp and Tigo Energy Matthew Geekie, senior vice president, secretary and general counsel at Graybar Eileen Kamerick,…
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Most CEOs still focused on decarbonization but taking long-term view, EY survey finds
A quarter of business leaders say they have deprioritized sustainability issues While some companies have dialed back their ESG goals, CEOs as a whole continue to see sustainability as a growing area of importance, according to a recent survey. Short-term priorities have shifted, however, with investment in technology viewed as more critical than decarbonization efforts in the coming months. In a poll of 1,200 executives, more than half (54 percent) say sustainability is more of a priority now than it was a year ago, reports the quarterly CEO Outlook Pulse survey from EY. Business leaders based in the Americas are…
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The week in GRC: Tesla shareholders back Musk pay plan and Elliott seeks changes at Southwest Airlines
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – CNBC reported that activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a $1.9 bn stake in Southwest Airlines and intends to push for leadership changes at the company. Elliott is seeking to replace Southwest CEO Bob Jordan and chair Gary Kelly with outside candidates, the activist said in a letter and presentation. Elliott believes Southwest has fallen from a best-in-class airline to one of the biggest laggards, according to the presentation. The investor wants Southwest to announce a CEO and chair transition with ‘immediate’ effect, Elliott said. Southwest said…