Natalie Bannerman
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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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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.…
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More time to shine: 2025 Corporate Governance Awards deadline extended
Governance Intelligence has extended the deadline for submissions for this year’s Corporate Governance Awards Nominees now have until Friday, August 8 to enter their submission for the 18th annual Corporate Governance Awards following an extension of the deadline. A gala ceremony announcing the winners will be held on Thursday, November 6, attended by hundreds of industry professionals from the world of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) in New York City. The commemoration will celebrate excellence in GRC, honoring those who set new standards across the sector. They cover many areas of governance-related activity, including hosting AGMs, compliance programs and ESG…
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How the SEC’s ‘pendulum swing’ has realigned rules with market realities this proxy season
DE&I, ESG proposals trends and regulatory changes take center stage at Governance Intelligence briefing How is the proxy season evolving? During a recent Governance Intelligence briefing on Lessons from the 2025 Proxy Season – held in partnership withBetaNXT – Amanda Thrash, senior counsel and assistant corporate secretary at The Williams Companies, said that DE&I issues were still of central importance to investors in 2025. ‘You had large institutional investors like State Street and proxy advisors like Glass Lewis both stating that they would vote against or recommend voting against directors on boards in companies that were not 30 percent gender…
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People moves: Philip Brown joins Bitcoin Depot as chief compliance officer as Kroger welcomes new general counsel
Plus Pentair, Air Products and Synopsys all strengthen their governance teams We are witnessing a quiet but seismic shift in corporate governance. Behind the headlines of stock prices and board reshuffles, a powerful trio of asset management giants – BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) – has quietly become the most influential force in the corporate world. Known collectively as the‘Big Three’, these firms are now shaping the strategies, structures and leadership of companies across the globe, all too often in ways that are invisible to the public and even to the businesses they influence. This isn’t just…