Archive
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Outset Medical recruits new general counsel
John Brottem formerly worked at Omnicell San Jose, California-based Outset Medical has appointed John Brottem as the company’s new general counsel. Brottem previously worked at Omnicell, where he was most recently vice president and deputy general counsel. During his time with Omnicell, he was involved in matters relating to public company reporting, corporate governance, M&A and strategic transactions, sales and marketing support, compliance, regulation, intellectual property and litigation. Before working at Omnicell, he was corporate counsel at Brocade Communications Systems and Foundry Networks, having spent six years as an associate in the business department of law firm Cooley. Outset Medical…
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The week in GRC: US companies condemn racism, and ESG funds said to outperform peers during Covid-19
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Guardian reported that Facebook employees were criticizing Mark Zuckerberg on social media for his refusal to act against US President Donald Trump. Disagreement came from employees at all levels of the company, including some senior staff. Particular criticism was aimed at Zuckerberg’s decision to leave in place the Facebook version of a tweet sent by Trump in which the president appeared to encourage police to shoot rioters. Twitter hid the message behind a warning. Zuckerberg had said he disagreed with Twitter’s interpretation of Trump’s statement, which included…
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Companies urged to spell out their purpose
New survey finds most respondents want corporate purpose aligned with UN sustainability goals New survey finds most respondents want corporate purpose aligned with UN sustainability goals Investors expect companies to describe their purpose and report on its implementation, according to new research. The findings come as issuers use the idea of corporate purpose to help steer them through the difficult decisions thrown up by the Covid-19 pandemic. The study, by shareholder advisory firm SquareWell Partners, finds that around three quarters of investors think companies should have defined a purpose. The same number of respondents believe purpose should be the ‘primary…
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Axogen hires successor general counsel
Greg Freitag retired from his position on Monday Nasdaq-listed Axogen has recruited Brad Ottinger as general counsel and chief compliance officer, effective June 1. Ottinger succeeds Greg Freitag, who retired from his position as general counsel on Monday. Freitag will continue to serve as a member of the company’s board of directors and take on the role of special counsel during a transition period expected to run until October of this year. Ottinger reports directly to Karen Zaderej, who is chair, CEO and president of Axogen. He is responsible for all legal and compliance activities at the Alachua, Florida-based company,…
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Preparing for and leading your company through a crisis
Suzanne Folsom and Robert Garretson explain what to do – and what not to do – to help your company successfully negotiate disruptive events such as the Covid-19 pandemic Organizations competing in the dynamic global economy inevitably encounter incidents of disruptive and unexpected strategic risk or crisis, which threaten to compromise their legal, financial or reputational standing – and necessitate real-time engagement. Such incidents of disruption and crisis across every industry and business are happening more frequently and cutting more deeply than ever before, with Covid-19 being the latest – and perhaps most profound – example. It has placed an…
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Sony/ATV promotes attorney to general counsel
Peter Brodsky has been with the music publisher since 2007 New York-based Sony/ATV Music Publishing has promoted Peter Brodsky to become general counsel in addition to his existing position of executive vice president for business affairs. He reports directly to Sony/ATV chair and CEO Jon Platt. Brodsky has led the company’s legal and business activities since 2007. According to Sony/ATV, he had a lead role in Sony’s acquisition of EMI Music Publishing. He previously worked at BMG Music Publishing, where he was head of the business and legal affairs department. He began his career as an associate at law firm…
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How to prepare for a contested virtual AGM
In the wake of the first contested virtual annual meeting, Igor Kirman and Sabastian Niles explain the additional steps governance teams should take – CNBC reported that the NYSE trading floor, which had been closed since March 23 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, partially reopened on Tuesday. The NYSE closed the floor due to multiple positive coronavirus tests of workers at the building. It was the first time the floor was shut while electronic trading continued. In the partial reopening, only roughly 80 floor brokers will be present, about 25 percent of the number before the pandemic. Designated…
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The week in GRC: Pandemic puts squeeze on compliance teams, and whistleblower attorneys see boom
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web The 2020 proxy season has been anything but routine, with the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting state shelter-in-place orders requiring many companies to make the shift from physical to virtual AGMs, as well as state corporate laws being amended to allow these virtual meetings to occur. But we had not seen a virtual annual meeting used in a proxy contest until April 30, 2020, when shareholders of TEGNA participated in the first election contest conducted at a virtual, rather than physical, annual meeting. (All 12 of the company’s nominees…
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Ashland unveils general counsel succession
Peter Ganz to retire from company at end of 2020 NYSE-listed Ashland Global Holdings has released details of the succession plan for its general counsel, Peter Ganz. Ganz, currently senior vice president, general counsel, secretary, chief legal and compliance officer, has decided to retire from Ashland at the end of 2020. Yvonne Winkler von Mohrenfels has been chosen to become general counsel and secretary, effective January 1, 2021. In the meantime she will be deputy general counsel, effective May 22, to ‘support a smooth transition,’ according to the company. Ganz joined Ashland in 2011 and has since been responsible for…
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Dunkin’ Brands promotes senior in-house attorney
Ryan Schaffer is now vice president and managing counsel Corporate Secretary has opened the submissions process for this year’s Corporate Governance Awards. Entries can be submitted free of charge by corporate secretaries, general counsel, compliance officers and other governance officials at companies listed/domiciled in the US, or by vendors or service providers on behalf of their clients. The winners of the 13th annual Corporate Governance Awards will be announced at a ceremony in New York on November 18 – which is also the date of the Corporate Secretary Think Tank. The awards recognize companies’ and individuals’ outstanding achievements in governance,…