Natalie Bannerman
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The week in GRC: HPE and Elliott reach boardroom truce as Erica Williams steps down from PCAOB
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web —Erica Williams, chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), is due to step down from the group after being ousted from the role, Reuters (paywall) reported. ‘Today I accepted Erica Williams’ offer to resign as chair and a board member of the PCAOB and thanked her for her service,’ said SEC chair Paul Atkins in a statement. ‘I am grateful she has agreed to stay on until July 22. We look forward to advancing our oversight responsibilities of the PCAOB as it continues its important work.’ It…
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‘It’s ripe for disruption’: How governance teams are harnessing AI for smarter board communications
Panelists discuss how the ‘AI train is leaving the station’ on a recent Governance Intelligence briefing How can your board use AI in a smart and safe way? A recent Governance Intelligence briefing onAI for board communications: The next frontier of governance, held in partnership with Board Intelligence, shed light on what AI innovation means for directors, emphasizing both the opportunities and governance challenges it introduces. Panelists discussed how they are encouraging their boards to embrace AI tools to enhance decision-making, streamline communication and improve efficiency – without compromising oversight, accountability or ethical responsibility. During the session, Seth Gastwirth, deputy…
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People moves: Alumis promotes Sanam Pangali to chief legal officer and IonQ brings in Paul Dacier
Plus Fiera Capital, Cingulate and Aluminium Bahrain bolster their governance teams Alumis, a late-stage biopharma company, has promoted Sanam Pangali to chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Prior to her promotion Pangali served as senior vice president of legal for the Nasdaq-listed company and succeeds Sara Klein, who has retired. In Pangali’s new role, she will oversee all legal and compliance functions including corporate governance, intellectual property, and strategic advisory on key decisions and transactions. Before joining Alumis Pangali held various leadership roles at the likes of ACELYRIN, Snapdocs, Principia Biopharma and Morrison & Foerster, the company says in a…
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Muted mics, loud protests: how the rise of AGM protests is forcing companies to rethink shareholder meetings
High-profile campaigns in UK provoked some firms to shift to online-only Are we witnessing a rise in AGM protests? While often a forum for disagreements with shareholders, this year’s AGM season was characterized by a marked rise in public campaigns targeting annual meetings – particularly in the UK – each of which gained significant press attention. In May, Shell’s 2025 AGM was interrupted by activists from Amnesty International UK, Fossil Free London and campaigners from Justice 4 Nigeriawho staged an ‘oil spill’ protest outside of the energy company’s global headquarters in central London. Earlier that month the Drax Group, owner…
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Beyond the podium: ‘Winning affirmed the value of what I’ve been able to accomplish’
As closing date looms for 2025 entries, we catch up with two of the big winners from the 17th annual Corporate Governance Awards Against the backdrop of the New York city skyline, the 17th annual Corporate Governance Awards bestowed 22 trophies on some of the industry’s key players back in 2024. Commemorated themes included annual general meetings, compliance and ethics programs, ESG reporting, entity management, use of technology, proxy statements, investor engagement and corporate transactions. The top individual prizes of the night, celebrating personal excellence in the world of GRC, went to Christina Lai of Robinhood Markets for governance professional…
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The week in GRC: Tesla sets November date for 2025 AGM amid corporate turmoil
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web —Telsa is to hold its annual shareholder meeting on November 06, following calls from a group of investors to set one, citing legal obligations, with its proxy statement to be released in the coming weeks. According to Reuters (paywall), Tesla’s last meeting was in June 2024. In April the company said it would file its annual proxy statement later than expected as the board had not decided on a date for the 2025 AGM. The news comes as the electric vehicle (EV) maker has suffered a series of setbacks…
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People moves: Eric Groen takes up new role at Genelux
Plus, Valley National Bancorp, ONE Gas and Deutsche Bank expand their governance teams Genelux Corporation, a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, has appointed Eric Groen as the company’s new general counsel, corporate secretary, chief compliance officer and head of business development. Groen enters the role having previously served as general counsel of Rani Therapeutics, a clinical-stage, publicly traded biotech. Prior to this he spent 20 years in the legal department at the biotech company Amgen. ‘Eric brings a powerful blend of legal expertise, global business development savvy and a strategic understanding of the biotechnology ecosystem,’ says Thomas Zindrick, president, CEO and chairman…
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‘Prevention is better than remedy’: majority of investors say governance gaps attract activists, research shows
New study finds that majority of investors think poor governance practices open door to activist attention The majority of institutional investors credit poor governance practices as the biggest driver of shareholder activism, a new study from shareholder advisory firm SquareWell Partners has found. Some 84 percent of investors polled, who hail from North America, Europe (including the UK) and Asia, said that poor governance was the main driver of activist investor attention. The findings of SquareWell’s report, titled The Long and the Short of It: Institutional Investors’ Views on Activism, center around three key themes, views on activism, evaluation criteria…
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The week in GRC: ISS joins Glass Lewis in backing SINOVAC Biotech in proxy war
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web —ISS has joined Glass Lewis in recommendingSINOVAC Biotech’s shareholders vote to keep the company’s current board of directors. The proposal came from SAIF Partners, SINOVAC’s largest single investor in close coordination with Advantech/Prime Success and Vivo Capital, who believe that the current board does not act in the interests of all shareholders. They also believe the current board lacks integrity, industry experience, management expertise and respect for the law necessary to fulfill its promises to shareholders, according to the latest release from SAIF Through the proposal SAIF aims to…
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People moves: NuScale Power welcomes Shahram Ghasemian as new legal chief and corporate secretary
Plus, Allegion, ConnectOne Bancorp and Fifth Third Bancorp all bolster their corporate governance teams US US nuclear power provider NuScale Power has confirmed the appointment of Shahram Ghasemian as chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Ghasemian joins NuScale from Centrus Energy where he served as senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary. Before this Ghasemian held several leadership positions within the federal government including the US Department of Energy, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and served as a senior legislative fellow on nuclear policy issues on Capitol Hill. Elsewhere Allegion, a global security and access company,…