Archive
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CIBC appoints Interac’s Lawal as CLO
Kikelomo Lawal will also oversee the bank’s corporate secretary, ombudsman and privacy office functions Kikelomo Lawal has been appointed executive vice president and chief legal officer (CLO) at CIBC, effective October 12. In her new position, Lawal will oversee the bank’s legal function globally as well as its corporate secretary, ombudsman and privacy office functions, and related policies and programs. She will join CIBC’s executive committee and report to president and CEO Victor Dodig. Shawn Beber is Lawal’s predecessor. He was appointed general counsel in August 2019. In February of this year he was named chief risk officer while also…
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BBSI appoints first general counsel
James Potts previously co-chaired the insurance corporate and regulatory practice at Cozen O’Connor Nasdaq-listed Barrett Business Services (BBSI) has appointed James Potts to the newly created position of executive vice president and general counsel. He reports to CEO Gary Kramer. Potts previously co-chaired the insurance corporate and regulatory practice at law firm Cozen O’Connor. He has worked for more than 25 years as an attorney representing clients across a range of industries. In his new role, he is responsible for overseeing BBSI’s legal, governance and compliance functions and is part of the senior management team. Vancouver, Washington-based BBSI provides business…
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The week in GRC: BlackRock discloses votes against climate crisis laggards, and SEC postpones Rule 14a-8 vote
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – According to CNBC, the philanthropic investment group created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar intends to convince business leaders and policymakers that capitalism needs to be redefined. Omidyar Network released a blueprint calling for investors to start taking a new and seemingly more progressive approach to understanding capitalism. The group is encouraging leaders to look at the economic system as a way to ‘equally ensure that people who have been historically and systematically marginalized by structural racism, colonialism, paternalism and indifference will have opportunity, power and the self-determination that…
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General counsel diversity progress is mixed, survey finds
Almost a third of general counsel at Fortune 1000 companies were women in 2019, compared to just 12 percent in 2004 There were record numbers of women and members of minority racial and ethnic groups among the ranks of general counsel at the largest US companies last year – but the picture of increasing diversity is not clear-cut, according to a new survey. The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) finds that 29 percent of general counsel at Fortune 1000 companies were women last year, compared to just 12 percent in 2004. The 2019 total is an increase of 25 women,…
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Vanguard keeps up ESG focus
Stewardship report highlights continued evolution of climate change and diversity issues In the wake of uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on public markets, many compensation committees are evaluating how to follow through on incentive compensation for their executive teams. This year has been anything but ‘business as usual.’ In many cases, long-term equity awards granted before March 2020 have lost value and performance goals for annual bonuses have become unrealistic. Companies still want their compensation programs to motivate and reward executives’ efforts. But when so many are furloughing employees and reducing dividends, pre-pandemic incentive compensation plans may…
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Discretionary adjustments to executive compensation call for careful disclosure
Molly Doran explains how to handle executive pay when pre-pandemic incentives may now seem inappropriate Vanguard has maintained its focus on ESG issues in terms of engagement and voting, according to its investment stewardship report on the 2020 proxy season. Figures in the report highlight the emerging picture that, contrary to some observers’ initial predictions, the Covid-19 pandemic and associated economic crisis have not lured institutional investors away from an interest in ESG matters. For example, board composition was discussed in 70 percent of Vanguard’s engagements this year, similar to the 79 percent of meetings it featured in last year.…
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Zentalis hires former Celgene corporate secretary as CLO
Alexis Pinto earlier spent 18 years at Merck Alexis Pinto has joined Nasdaq-listed Zentalis Pharmaceuticals as chief legal officer (CLO). Pinto is the company’s first CLO, according to a spokesperson. She was most recently corporate vice president and corporate secretary at Celgene Corporation, which became a Bristol Myers Squibb company last year. In her role at Celgene, Pinto provided legal support to the business development and global alliance management groups and served as lead counsel on transactions including the acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb. Before joining Celgene, Pinto spent 18 years at Merck, where her last role was managing counsel…
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VelosBio appoints general counsel
Paul Bavier was most recently general counsel and chief compliance officer at Avedro San Diego, California-based VelosBio has hired Paul Bavier as general counsel, heading up all legal and compliance-related functions at the company. Bavier was until earlier this year general counsel and chief compliance officer at Avedro, now a subsidiary of Glaukos Corporation. In that role he handled all legal, corporate secretary and commercial compliance matters. Before that, he was general counsel and corporate secretary for several years at Biodel with increasingly senior responsibilities, most recently as general counsel and secretary, chief administrative officer and vice president for corporate…
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Companies increase board evaluation disclosures, survey finds
Fifty-three percent of Fortune 100 firms now disclose topics covered in board evaluations – The Wall Street Journal reported that a new agreement between the US Department of the Treasury and officials in Delaware may result in more aggressive enforcement of economic sanctions on non-financial companies, particularly if they attempt to hide transactions behind anonymous entities. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Delaware Department of Justice recently signed a memorandum of understanding to encourage information-sharing and co-ordination on investigations and to promote compliance with US trade and economic sanctions laws. The agreement is intended to enhance…
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The week in GRC: Rio Tinto CEO exit seen as warning to boards, and Fed wants bank diversity info
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web Major US companies are increasingly focusing on board and director evaluations and reporting around those efforts, according to a new survey. The study by the EY Center for Board Matters (CBM) of proxy statements filed by Fortune 100 companies finds that almost half (48 percent) this year disclosed that they conducted individual director evaluations in addition to board and committee evaluations, up from 24 percent in 2018 and 39 percent last year. ‘While board and committee evaluations have long been required of all public companies listed on the [NYSE]…