Archive
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Carrols appoints new general counsel
Restaurant group’s new top lawyer joins from Mercedes-Benz unit Syracuse, New York-based Carrols Restaurant Group has appointed Markus Hartmann as vice president and general counsel, effective February 18. He succeeds Bill Myers, who will serve in a transitionary role for an unspecified period of time. Myers is retiring, according to a spokesperson. Hartmann was most recently vice president for technical compliance at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America. During his time with the company, he was in charge of creating the technical compliance function in North America for Daimler’s passenger car and vans division. He had previously been the North…
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Apple investors say no to ESG-comp proposal
Issues on AGM ballot included freedom of expression – Reuters reported on UBS Group’s disclosure that 38 percent of its employees in the Americas at the end of last year were women and 25 percent were people of color, adding that it plans to increase the diversity of its workforce. Although diversity was greater in hiring – 42 percent of new recruits were women and 38 percent non-white – it declined for promotions. A third of those promoted were women, while only 21 percent were people of color, UBS said in a report. ‘Where we see breakage in the pipelines…
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Corporate secretaries urged to stay alert on coronavirus
Disclosures, shareholder engagement and even AGMs will require consideration and attention to developments Corporate secretaries, general counsel and boards must stay alert to changing circumstances as they respond to the coronavirus and its potential impact on their companies, according to Alston & Bird partner David Brown. ‘They will need to be nimble in terms of disclosures and shareholder outreach’ while making sure not to be hysterical, Brown tells Corporate Secretary. He has been fielding incoming calls from clients on the coronavirus issue, with some wanting to check whether they are being too aggressive or too conservative in their approach. Companies,…
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The week in GRC: Buffet presses BlackRock on climate plans, and UBS discloses Americas workforce diversity
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web Apple shareholders have rejected three proposals, including one relating to sustainability and executive compensation, each of which the board had opposed. The tech firm faced the shareholder proposals at its AGM, which took place on Wednesday at its base in Cupertino, California. One requested that the board’s compensation committee prepare a report ‘assessing the feasibility of integrating sustainability metrics into performance measures, performance goals or vesting conditions that may apply to senior executives under the company’s compensation incentive plans.’ The proposal defined sustainability as ‘how environmental and social considerations,…
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Extreme language on earnings calls has positive impact, study finds
Expressive words when talking with analysts can influence trading volume and share price Investors appear to interpret companies’ strong language on quarterly earnings calls as a positive sign for future earnings and sales, according to a study from the University of Miami, the University of Texas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. By contrast, moderate language is associated with weak future performance, according to a report written by Khrystyna Bochkay of the University of Miami, Jeffrey Hales of the University of Texas at Austin, and Sudheer Chava of Georgia Tech. The research was originally published in The Accounting Review. Hales…
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Six Flags hires new general counsel
Laura Doerre succeeds the retiring Lance Balk Theme park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has hired Laura Doerre as executive vice president and general counsel, effective March 9. According to an SEC filing, Doerre is joining the Grand Prairie, Texas-based company from door and window manufacturer JELD-WEN, where she has been executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer since September 2016. Before joining JELD-WEN, Doerre worked at Nabors Industries from 1996 to August 2016, serving as vice president and general counsel from 2008 to August 2016. Prior to Nabors, she practiced commercial litigation with law firm Mayor Day…
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Barnes Group names general counsel successor
Peter Gutermann to retire at the end of March Bristol, Connecticut-based Barnes Group is promoting James Pelletier to become senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, effective April 1. In his new role, Pelletier will be the chief legal adviser to the company’s senior leadership team, chair and board of directors. He will also oversee and supervise all legal matters affecting the company, including general corporate matters, M&A, corporate governance and SEC compliance. Pelletier joined Barnes Group in 2015 and is at present deputy general counsel for Barnes Group and segment general counsel for Barnes Aerospace. Before working at the…
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The week in GRC: Nissan CEO faces angry shareholders, and SEC presses firms on Chinese audits amid coronavirus
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Guardian reported that companies paid out a record $1.43 trillion in dividends to shareholders around the world in 2019. The record-breaking payout from public companies was driven by strong performances in stock markets in North America and emerging economies, including by some unusually high special dividends. The total payment was 3.5 percent higher than in 2018. Analysts at Janus Henderson studied dividends paid by the world’s 1,200 largest companies in 2019. They found that shareholder payouts from UK and European firms were less generous than the global…
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Diageo fined $5 million over alleged disclosure lapses
SEC action relates to company’s North American subsidiary Institutional investors see talent management and climate change as the stand-out issues factoring into companies’ strategic success, according to new research. Asked which factors are critical to their portfolio issuers’ fate over the next three to five years, almost two thirds (64 percent) point to talent management – in reference to the workforce as a whole – and 56 percent cite environmental issues/climate change. Corporate culture and board composition and diversity rank next, with each being named by 38 percent of respondents. Behind these come customer preference (34 percent), investment and R&D…
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Talent is key to corporate success, investors say
Climate change, culture and board composition are also top factors Alcohol company Diageo has agreed to pay a $5 million penalty to settle allegations that it failed to make necessary disclosures following efforts by its North American subsidiary to counteract weak market conditions. Diageo, which is listed on both the NYSE and London Stock Exchange, owns brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Buchanan’s and Windsor whiskies, Smirnoff, Cîroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness. It is headquartered in London and operates its US operations through Diageo North America (DNA). The SEC says in…