Archive
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Board refreshment: Finding the right directors to move forward
Corporate Secretary’s ‘Board refreshment: Finding the right directors to move forward’ presents the findings from exclusive research conducted among governance professionals such as general counsel, corporate secretaries and their teams. The report provides helpful insights into, among other things, how candidates are identified, what characteristics are taken into account in recruitment and whether boards are building a pipeline of potential directors. The findings in this report are based on an online survey conducted between December 2022 and March 2023. Click to read CS Board Refreshment Key findings More than four in 10 respondents (44 percent) say their main board discusses…
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Mastercard hires legal chief
Rob Beard was previously general counsel at Micron Technology Governance and investor relations professionals gathered at the ESG Integration Forum – Summer in New York last week. Discussions among panelists and the audience covered a range of topics but an overriding theme was the political, and in some areas financial, pushback against ESG as a concept, even as the ways in which companies and investors handle ESG-related issues continue to become more nuanced and sophisticated. An array of experts from across the industry shared their insights on topics including developments in regulation and standards, producing more detailed and investor-targeted ESG…
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ESG Integration Forum – Summer: Governance professionals eye future amid backlash
Anti-ESG efforts, granular data, regulatory developments and board oversight among topics of discussion at New York event Mastercard has hired Rob Beard as chief legal officer, general counsel and head of global policy. In his new role he oversees the company’s legal, public policy, regulatory affairs and litigation teams globally. He reports to Tim Murphy, chief administrative officer. Beard previously worked at Micron Technology as general counsel and corporate secretary, heading up the semiconductor company’s global legal, intellectual property and ethics and compliance functions. He joined Micron in 2014 as the company’s primary M&A lawyer and for several years worked…
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The week in GRC: BlackRock adds Saudi Aramco CEO to board and industry groups criticize FTC’s click-to-cancel plan
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Financial Times (paywall) reported that, according to data from EY, more than a quarter of board members at European financial services companies hold at least four such positions across different firms, raising concerns about overboarding. The data also showed that more work is needed on gender representation to meet a forthcoming EU directive. ‘When you’re attempting to create more diversity of skills, having the same person appearing multiple times and being brought on to different boards works against that,’ said Tara Cemlyn-Jones, CEO of non-profit 25×25, which…
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Society for Corporate Governance leader steps down
Christina Maguire joined the organization in January 2023 Christina Maguire is stepping down as president and CEO of the Society for Corporate Governance to ‘pursue other opportunities,’ according to the organization. Maguire joined the society in January of this year. She had been managing director and global head of ESG, governance research and proxy voting with BNY Mellon in Boston from 2012 to November 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile. In that role, she oversaw policy, voting and operations functions for roughly $2 tn in assets at more than 12,000 issuers. Earlier in her career, she spent 15 years as…
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Survey findings show progress on ESG disclosure and preparedness
Sustainability, climate and equity initiatives are not buzzwords or marketing trends. In today’s business environment, more and more companies view ESG prioritization, integration and disclosure as a strategic imperatives – and with good reason. Customers, employees and investors are making key decisions based on the environmental and social commitments and actions organizations are taking, and they have become savvy at spotting greenwashing. Companies are embracing ESG reporting for a variety of reasons. According to the findings of Deloitte’s Sustainability action report, which surveyed executives about increased preparations, challenges and planned investments to meet the growing expectation for high-quality sustainability reporting…
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SEC ponders new rules for AI over conflicts of interest
Agency chair also sounds warning about corporate disclosures on AI technology Artificial intelligence (AI) offers ‘tremendous opportunities’ for finance but could exacerbate a future financial crisis and may need new rules to prevent conflicts of interest, SEC chair Gary Gensler warned in a speech on Monday. Speaking at the National Press Club, Gensler said AI technology is the ‘most transformative technology of our time,’ describing it as ‘on par with the internet and mass production of automobiles’. For the financial industry, AI could lead to greater inclusion and improved user experience, the SEC chair said, although he also warned about…
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AMN Healthcare names successor to CLO
Denise Jackson to retire in August AMN Healthcare Services is promoting Whitney Laughlin to become corporate secretary and chief legal officer (CLO), effective August 19. Laughlin joined AMN in 2006 and is at present deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary, having previously been senior corporate counsel and corporate counsel with the company. According to her LinkedIn profile, before moving to AMN she was a partner at law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith where her litigation practice focused on employment law and professional liability defense, including class action and multi-party litigation. Laughlin will succeed Denise Jackson, who is retiring…
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Canadian Solar legal chief retires
Jianyi Zhang was also chief compliance officer and corporate secretary BlackRock has announced plans to extend pass-through voting to its largest ETF in a move that would hand retail investors a greater say on company matters. The world’s biggest asset manager said on Monday it would expand its voting choice service to the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, which has $305 bn in assets under management. Investors in the ETF would have the chance to choose from a range of third-party voting policies, including from ISS and Glass Lewis, or to continue to follow the recommendations of BlackRock’s investment stewardship…
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BlackRock expands voting choice service to largest ETF
Firm aims to provide pass-through voting to more than half its equity index assets Average support for climate-related shareholder resolutions has continued to fall in the 2023 proxy season, according to a preliminary analysis by Morningstar. The volume of these resolutions remains high, however, and investor voting choices differ notably across regions and sectors. To get an early picture of voting trends, Morningstar analyzed resolutions in the 11 months to May 31, 2023 across a number of climate-exposed industries: banking, insurance, energy, utilities and materials. The study captured voting in the US, where most climate resolutions are filed, as well…