Laurie Havelock
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Pass-through voting is in the SEC’s sights again, but what will change?
Regulator’s Investor Advisory Committee recently tackled the topic Coffee shop chain Starbucks will be searching for a new legal chief in the coming months after announcing it would be parting ways with current chief legal officer Brad Lerman. In an SEC filing, the company says that Lerman ‘would no longer serve’ in his role ‘as of a date to be determined’, but would continue to work as CLO until a successor was appointed. Lerman, who previously worked at medical device company Medtronic as general counsel before retiring in 2022, came out of retirement in April 2023 to become Starbucks’ CLO…
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Centrus Energy’s general counsel Shahram Ghasemian departs in management shake-up
Richard Emery steps in as acting general counsel as firm searches for replacement Shahram Ghasemian has stepped down from his position as senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Centrus Energy as part of a leadership shake-up. Following his departure, Richard Emery, who currently serves as the firm’s deputy general counsel and director of corporate compliance, will become acting general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary as the company finds a successor. Ghasemian will resign from his role on June 29 to pursue another opportunity, the NYSE-listed company says in an SEC filing. There…
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The week in GRC: Ben & Jerry’s co-founder likens companies stepping down DEI policies as ‘appeasement’
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web The week in GRC: Ben & Jerry’s co-founder likens companies stepping down DEI policies to ‘appeasement’ This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – One of the co-founders of ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s has said that corporate America’s retreat from adopting DEI policies under political pressure amounted to ‘appeasement’, the Financial Times reported (paywall). The often-outspoken Ben Cohen also said that consumers cared more than ever about corporate ‘purpose’, even as companies including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Walt Disney have scaled back diversity…
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As the 2025 proxy season ends, it’s time to think about next year’s statement
The proxy statement has evolved to become more than just a regulatory fulfilment Former Trump official CJ Mahoney has been promoted within Microsoft, announcing on LinkedIn that he has been named as the firm’s General Counsel, ‘leading the talented team of lawyers, paralegals and business professionals who support the company’s engineering, sales and marketing efforts.’ Mahoney joined Microsoft in early 2021, coming from a two-year stint in government during President Donald Trump’s first term. Mahoney served as Deputy United States Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President from March 2018 to December 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile.…
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James Pelletier takes up general counsel post at JBT Marel
Former Kymera and Masonite lawyer to join at the end of June Former Kymera and Masonite legal counsel James Pelletier has taken up a new position at JBT Marel. Pelletier will join the NYSE and Nasdaq Iceland-listed technology company, which provides solutions and services to the food and beverage industry, on June 30. He has ‘more than two decades of legal and business leadership experience,’ a press release from JBT Marel states, noting that Pelletier most recently served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at specialty metals and coatings maker Kymera. Prior to that, Pelletier held roles including senior…
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The week in GRC: Pension funds demand that Elon Musk work a 40-hour week at Tesla
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – A collection of pension funds has demanded that Elon Musk commit to working at least 40 hours a week at electric car maker Tesla, calling for corporate governance reforms to address a ‘crisis’ at the company, according to the Financial Times (paywall). A letter sent to Tesla’s chair Robyn Denholm and signed by 12 institutional investors, including the New York City Comptroller, the American Federation of Teachers and Denmark’s AkademikerPension, who jointly manage a total of $950 bn in assets, demands Musk’s ‘full-time attention’ on Tesla to address…
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Scholastic promotes Chris Lick to the top of the class
Former senior vice president and deputy general counsel to succeed Andrew Hedden Children’s publishing and media company Scholastic has promoted Chris Lick, formerly senior vice president and deputy general counsel, to take over as its new executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Lick replaces Andrew Hedden, who previously served as general counsel for 17 years and recently announced his retirement. Hedden will hold the role of senior counselor in the interim. In his new position, Lick will provide strategic legal counsel for the Nasdaq-listed firm and its board of directors both in the US and abroad. This includes…
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Frankenmuth Insurance brings in State Farm lawyer as chief legal officer
Kelly Ott brings more than 30 years of experience to the role Frankenmuth Insurance has brought in a former State Farm lawyer as its new chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Kelly Ott has joined the Frankenmuth, Michigan-based firm effective from April 28, and will serve as its top legal advisory, overseeing corporate legal matters, governance and regulatory compliance across the company and its subsidiaries. She will also serve as Frankenmuth’s corporate secretary, overseeing board procedures and supporting various executive committees. Ott brings more than 30 years of experience in private practice and in-house legal leadership, according to a press…
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The Week in GRC: Amazon proposals voted down as US AGM season hits its peak
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Thursday May 22 marked the peak of the US AGM season, according to ISS Corporate analysis, with 137 Russell 3000 companies convening shareholders – more than any other day this year. This milestone comes amid a notable decline in shareholder proposal submissions and a sharp rise in omissions, driven in part by new SEC guidance requiring greater economic relevance. – At its 2025 shareholder meeting, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy defended the company’s aggressive $100 bn investment in artificial intelligence, positioning it as essential to competing with Microsoft and…
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Adobe appoints former Disney and Roku lawyer Pentland as CLO
Software giant names replacement for departed general counsel Dana Rao What does DEI mean to you? Here at IR Impact, we’ve stopped spelling out diversity, equity and inclusion, working under the assumption that this most tricky of news items is known to all. But it seems that other interpretations exist – on the White House official X account for example, where a post was recently put out stating ‘the only DEI we support is Deport Every Illegal’. That very much sums up the kind of narrative companies are up against with today’s very public broadly anti-ESG and specifically anti-DEI rhetoric.…