Archive
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Rite Aid appoints legal chief
Thomas Sabatino has been general counsel at several major companies Joanna Totsky is joining The Toro Company (TTC) as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective June 19. Totsky is moving to TTC from Cooper-Standard Holdings, which supplies automotive and industrial companies, where she most recently was senior vice president, chief legal and transformation officer and corporate secretary. She has been a member of the leadership team at Cooper-Standard Holdings, with involvement in key strategic and operational matters, and has led the company’s global legal and compliance functions. Before joining Cooper-Standard Holdings, she held roles of increasing responsibility at…
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The week in GRC: EU eyes ESG rating agencies and DoJ creates corporate crime database
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Bloomberg (paywall) said the world’s biggest climate-finance alliance launched a consultation on its guidance for financial institutions and others working to speed up the phasing out of coal power in Asia. Most big financial institutions have restrictions – if not outright prohibitions – on coal investments, even for early retirements. But finance has struggled to overcome a lack of transparency and ‘leakage’ – the risk that shutting one plant just shifts emissions elsewhere. In its guidelines released on Monday, the Asia-Pacific chapter of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for…
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Univar Solutions recruits new general counsel
Alexandra Colin was previously with Kimberly-Clark Chemical company Univar Solutions has appointed Alexandra Colin as general counsel, effective July 1. In her new role, Colin will also lead global compliance and enterprise risk management programs for the company. She is joining Univar Solutions having previously been associate general counsel for personal care in North America for the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Her earlier experience includes holding associate general counsel positions at Baxter Healthcare Corporation as well as being an associate in litigation at law firm Mayer Brown. Colin has experience advising public and private companies and is an expert on issues such…
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Lobbying proposal attracts strong support at McDonald’s AGM
Resolution one of many focused on companies’ political activities Shareholders narrowly missed approving a proposal on McDonald’s lobbying activities at the company’s recent AGM amid a continued focus on US companies’ political involvement. The proposal, filed by the SOC Investment Group, asked for an annual report disclosing: The McDonald’s policy and procedures governing direct and indirect lobbying and grassroots lobbying communications Payments made by the company used for direct or indirect lobbying or for grassroots lobbying communications, in each case reporting the amount of the payment and the recipient A description of management’s decision-making process and the board’s oversight for…
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Dollar General shareholders call for worker safety audit
Two thirds of votes at company’s AGM back proposal Shareholders in Dollar General have backed a proposal on the safety of the company’s employees. According to an SEC filing, 67.7 percent of the votes cast at Dollar General’s AGM on May 31 were in favor of the resolution, which asks the company’s board to commission an independent third-party audit on the impact of the company’s policies and practices on the safety and well-being of workers. The resolution also calls for a report on the audit to be made available online. The resolution states that, at the company’s discretion, the proponents…
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Amazon to take lead in generative AI, CEO tells investors
Shareholders raise concerns over potential misuse of advanced technology Amazon expects to be the next leader in generative artificial intelligence (AI), according to CEO Andy Jassy. Speaking to shareholders at the firm’s virtual AGM on May 24, Jassy told investors the company is at the very early stages of using generative AI and expects it to offer ‘high potential’ to both customers and the business. Over the last nine months there had been a new inflection point for generative AI within Amazon, Jassy remarked. ‘It’s still very early days, but it’s moving quickly’ he said. The company will be incorporating…
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Governance Matters podcast: How HPE’s legal team uses virtual reality, and working with IR on stewardship engagement
In the latest episode we hear about new possibilities for deploying technology in governance work Virtual reality (VR) has yet to become a commonplace tool for in-house legal and governance teams, but Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is taking the opening steps in what could well be an exciting journey. ‘We find that VR offers this immense opportunity to eliminate what we call distance bias,’ Kyle Frankeny, senior counsel with HPE, tells Corporate Secretary in the latest episode of the Governance Matters podcast. ‘We are a global company, and if we offer events in VR we’re enabling people around the world…
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Macy’s legal chief to retire
Veteran of Office Depot and Domino’s to step down in the fall Elisa Garcia, executive vice president, chief legal officer (CLO) and corporate secretary of Macy’s, has informed the company that she plans to retire on October 6, 2023, according to an SEC filing. Garcia joined Macy’s in 2016 as CLO. She also oversees government affairs for the retail company. She was previously at Office Depot, which she joined in 2007 as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, before becoming CLO in 2013. Before her time at Office Depot, she was executive vice president, general counsel and corporate…
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Employee-related resolutions garner support at Amazon AGM
Topics include working conditions, pay equity and unionization A number of ESG-related shareholder proposals filed at Amazon.com’s AGM last week, including some focused on issues affecting employees, gained levels of support generally regarded as significant, though none of the measures on the ballot secured a majority. For example, a proposal on working conditions at Amazon’s warehouses received 35.4 percent of the votes cast – though that figure is down from 44 percent at last year’s AGM. The resolution, filed by UK-based activist investor group Tulipshare, asks that the company’s board commission an independent audit and report of the working conditions…
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Everest Re appoints general counsel
Ricardo Anzaldua was general counsel at MetLife earlier in his career Shareholders in ExxonMobil are set to vote on a range of climate change-related proposals at the energy company’s AGM next week. The resolutions include one filed by Dutch activist group Follow This asking ExxonMobil to set a medium-term reduction target covering the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the use of its energy products – Scope 3 emissions – in line with the aim of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. ‘Setting a Paris-aligned medium-term target covering Scope 3 is paramount, because the…
