Natalie Bannerman
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What you read in 2025: Deregulation, DEI rollbacks and the rise of boardroom control
Governance Intelligence looks back on the most read stories of 2025 and what that means for changing governance priorities Nasdaq-listed Gilead Sciences has named Keeley Wettan as its EVP, general counsel, legal and compliance. Effective immediately, she will join the company’s senior leadership team and report to chairman and CEO Daniel O’Day. Wettan has been with Gilead for 14 years, during which time she has held a number of senior legal leadership roles, most recently as SVP leading the global legal business partners team. Before that, she led the litigation and government investigations and the corporate governance and strategic transactions…
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People moves: Gilead Sciences welcomes new EVP, general counsel, legal and compliance
Plus, Parsons. Alithya and Ashford bolsters their legal teams 2025 has been a watershed year across the GRC profession. Deregulation has taken center stage, shifting more power to the boardroom and dialing back DEI and ESG requirements. That pivot is reflected clearly in the stories Governance Intelligence readers clicked on most over the last 12 months. Our most-read piece of the year was a Governance Matters podcast episode featuring Neil McCarthy, co-founder and chief product officer of DragonGC. McCarthy unpacked the SEC’s recent enforcement cases involving disclosures around executive perks – including aircraft use – and why companies now considering…
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The week in GRC: Amazon, Walmart and Alphabet shareholder pushes for immigration disclosure as OCC relaxes Citigroup compliance rules
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – A union-aligned investor group SOC Investment Group has urged Amazon, Walmart and Alphabet to disclose how President Donald Trump’s immigration policies affect their finances and supply chains, according to letters seen by Reuters (paywall). SOC, which holds small stakes in each company, has asked for details on how they will handle Trump’s proposed $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, a move that could impede hiring skilled foreign workers – especially in the technology and logistics industries. The group also asked Amazon and Walmart to explain how immigration enforcement,…
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Corporate Governance Awards 2025: On the red carpet with Ally Financial
Hope Mehlman reflects on her longstanding career Governance Intelligence recently presented its18th annual Corporate Governance Awardsat a gala ceremony this past November in New York City. Live from the red carpet, we spoke with several esteemed guests from across the world of GRC, includingHope Mehlman, chief legal and corporate affairs officer at Ally Financial. Mehlman was namedthe 2025 recipient of theLifetime Achievement Award. Before the ceremony we asked about what this recognition means to her, the one piece of advice she would give aspiring governance professionals and why teams should consider entering next year. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements by…
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People moves: AIxCrypto names new head of legal following rebrand
Plus Securitize, NW Natural and Hemlo Mining bolster their governance teams On the latest episode of the Governance Matters podcast, senior reporter Natalie Bannerman takes a closer look at the standout moments and major themesemergingfrom the 2025 awards season. In a series of conversations with prominent governance leaders,weexplore how the industry is evolving and what continues to set theCorporate Governance Awardsapart as a benchmark of excellence. Guestsinclude: Brian Breheny, partnerat Skadden John Kim,assistant corporatesecretaryand lead counsel at GeneralMotors Lori Zyskowski,partnerat Gibson Dunn Kevin Bohl,senior vice president, deputy generalcounseland assistant corporate secretary at Ventas Fernando Contreras,VP,chief compliance officer & corporate secretaryatBaker Hughes…
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Privacy emerges as the defining regulatory fault line at SEC crypto roundtable
Regulators and industry voices examine how far financial oversight should extend as digital asset markets mature Earlier this week the SEC’s Crypto Task Force held its sixth roundtable, addressing what chairman Paul Atkins described as one of the most consequential questions for the digital age: whether US citizens ‘can participate in modern finance without surrendering their privacy.’ The event brought together regulators, privacy advocates, industry participants and observers in a wide-ranging discussion about how financial surveillance and individual privacy should coexist in an increasingly blockchain-driven world. In his opening remarks, Atkins said the federal government has a duty to protect…
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The week in GRC: Trump inks executive order to review proxy advisors as Paramount Skydance takes Warner Bros bid to investors
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the SEC to review proxy adviser rules as part of a wider crackdown on ESG influence in corporate governance. According to Bloomberg (paywall), the order instructs SEC chair Paul Atkins to evaluate and potentially revise or rescind regulations, guidance and related rules governing proxy advisory firms that critics say have pushed politically charged agendas rather than focusing solely on shareholder returns. It specifically cites ISS and Glass Lewis, claiming they have backed proposals on racial equity audits, greenhouse-gas…
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People moves: Former Meta CLO joins Apple as new general counsel
Plus, Asana, Everest and Berkshire Hathaway name new legal hires Jennifer Newstead, the former chief legal officer at Meta, will join Apple as SVP from January before transitioning to general counsel by March 2026. Newstead is to succeed Kate Adams who is retiring from her role as general counsel. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO says that he is ‘incredibly grateful to her for the leadership she has provided, for her remarkable determination across a myriad of highly complex issues and above all, for her thoughtfulness, her deeply strategic mind and her sound counsel.’ Newstead was most recently chief legal officer at…
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Glass Lewis tightens US oversight of board powers in broader 2026 proxy rethink
Glass Lewis’ US-led 2026 updates mark a sharper turn toward flexible, investor-driven oversight and stronger shareholder rights Glass Lewis released its 2026 Benchmark Policy Guidelines on December 5, setting out notable changes for its policies for companies in the US, Canada, the UK and continental Europe. The updated guidelines, which apply to shareholder meetings held after 1 January 2026, indicate a shift away from rigid, uniform voting prescriptions and towards one with more customization and sees proxy advisors act more as research providers than as standard setters. This comes weeks after ISS published its 2026 Benchmarking policies, ushering in its…
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The week in GRC: SEC eases disclosure rules as Amber Energy takeover proceeds at pace
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The head of the SEC Paul Atkins said the regulator should ease listing and disclosure rules for small firms to help revive the IPO market. As reported by Bloomberg (paywall), in a December 2 speech at the NYSE, he argued that companies with a public float as low as $250 mn face the same regulatory burdens as firms 100 times larger, which discourages capital raising and inhibits growth. He proposed extending the ‘on-ramp’ period for newly public small companies to gradually comply with full reporting standards, instead of…