Ben Maiden and Ben Ashwell
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The week in GRC: DE&I links to executive compensation lost ground last year and activist Ancora launches proxy battle at US Steel
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Ancora Holdings has launched a proxy battle at US Steel. Ancora announced a strategy to rally shareholders around a plan that would remove US Steel’s CEO and drop litigation to salvage a merger with Nippon Steel. The firm isn’t interested in pursuing a sale of US Steel to another party and said its priority is seeing through a turnaround of the company in the public markets. Ancora has nominated nine director candidates to US Steel’s 12-person board, including former Stelco…
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Starbucks faces vote on cage-free eggs
SEC declines company’s attempt to omit proposal Shareholders in Starbucks Corporation will vote at the coffee company’s March 12 AGM on a resolution about its approach to cage-free eggs in Asia. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is behind the proposal, which asks Starbucks to ‘disclose details of its implementation plans and timelines for reaching its cage-free egg commitment in China and Japan.’ In its supporting statement the society quotes Starbucks’ Form 10Ks as stating ‘the ongoing relevance of our brand may depend on making sufficient progress toward our social and environmental program goals’ including those related to…
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Spotify general counsel stepping down
‘I have made the decision to step away from full-time corporate life’ HBO veteran Eve Konstan is stepping down as general counsel at Spotify. In a post on her LinkedIn feed, Konstan writes: ‘After an incredible 32 years practicing law, I have made the decision to step away from full-time corporate life and my last day at Spotify will be this Friday, January 31. ‘This marks the end of a chapter that’s been filled with unforgettable experiences and immense personal growth, and while it’s bittersweet to step away from a role and company that I love, I am confident this…
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Costco shareholders overwhelmingly nix anti-DE&I proposal
Board among those that have opposed efforts to undermine diversity efforts Costco Wholesale Corporation shareholders have overwhelmingly voted against an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) resolution that the company’s board recommended against. At a time when other US companies are facing similar proposals and other anti-ESG pressures, the proposal garnered just 1.7 percent of the votes cast at Costco’s January 23 AGM. Costco is not alone in facing anti-DE&I shareholder proposals this proxy season. Nor is its board alone in objecting to them. Apple’s board is currently urging shareholders to vote at its February 25 AGM against a proposal asking…
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The week in GRC: Trump executive orders pull US out of Paris Agreement and go after DE&I at government contractors
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – CNN reported that President Trump also rescinded a nearly 60-year-old executive order that prohibited government contractors from discriminating in their hiring, firing, promotion or pay practices. Instead, there is a new requirement that those employers certify they do not have what he termed ‘illegal’ diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs. He also ordered each federal agency to identify up to nine targets for federal investigations into their DE&I practices to see if they should be judged ‘illegal.’ That includes public companies, large non-profit corporations or associations and major…
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Deere & Company faces shareholder votes on DE&I policies
Pro- and anti-DE&I resolutions are in the company’s proxy statement Shareholders in Deere & Company, also known as John Deere, will vote at the firm’s February 26 AGM on two contrasting proposals concerning the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts after the company unsuccessfully requested that the SEC allow it to omit one of them from its 2025 proxy statement. A proposal filed by As You Sow asks Deere to ‘report publicly on the effectiveness of its efforts to create a meritocratic workplace where no one is excluded from contributing to the company’s success because of an immutable characteristic,…
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Tyler Technologies names new CLO
Bill Van Asselt was previously deputy legal chief Software company Tyler Technologies has promoted Bill Van Asselt to chief legal officer (CLO). Van Asselt succeeds Abby Diaz, who has been promoted to the newly created position of chief administrative officer. Diaz will continue to oversee Van Asselt’s legal team and adds to her role responsibility for corporate governance and responsibility, internal audit, data privacy and corporate communications. She will continue to be Tyler’s corporate secretary. Van Asselt was previously deputy CLO and joined Tyler through the acquisition of NIC in 2021. He had been at NIC for nearly 11 years,…
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The week in GRC: Supreme Court declines to hear oil companies’ appeal of climate case and Republicans try to repeal Corporate Transparency Act
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Reuters reported that the US Supreme Court declined to hear a bid by oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change brought about by the burning of fossil fuels. The justices turned away an appeal by the oil companies of a decision by Hawaii’s top court allowing the suit, which alleged violations of state law, to proceed. The suit was filed in 2020 by the city and county of Honolulu and the Honolulu Board…
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Warner Bros Discovery hires legal chief from American Airlines
Priya Aiyar starts with the media company in February Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has hired Priya Aiyar as chief legal officer, effective next month. She will report to CEO David Zaslav. Aiyar will join WBD from American Airlines, where she has been CLO since 2022. In that role she has overseen the company’s legal affairs and strategies globally and has overseen labor relations. According to a WBD announcement, Aiyar played a key role in American Airlines’ navigation of the Covid-19 pandemic and helped reach new contracts with the company’s unionized work groups. According to her LinkedIn profile, she joined the…
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Apple’s board urges vote against anti-diversity proposal
Board argues that it and management ‘maintain active oversight of legal and regulatory risks and compliance’ Apple’s board is urging shareholders to vote at its February 25 AGM against a proposal asking the tech company to consider dropping its diversity efforts. The National Center for Public Policy Research, which filed the proposal, is one of the most active of the conservative groups that have been submitting anti-DE&I and other anti-ESG resolutions in recent years. In this case, the center directly requests in its proposal that Apple ‘consider abolishing its inclusion and diversity program, policies, department and goals.’ It notes the…