Archive
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The week in GRC: Salesforce announces board changes and SEC proposes ABS reforms
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported that increased SEC scrutiny has disrupted crypto companies’ plans to go public this past year, amid financial distress and failures across the industry. Crypto-focused companies have failed to secure the SEC approvals that are needed for companies going public. The companies were seeking stock exchange listings through mergers with special purpose acquisition companies, a route to listing that was popular in 2020 and 2021 before heightened regulatory checks and market turbulence. The SEC didn’t set out to stop the companies from going…
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Investment community warms to hybrid meeting formats
Hybrid approach more popular than in person, survey finds Management and non-management teams want more hybrid shareholder meetings in 2023, according to a new survey by ICR. More than half (54 percent) of management teams and almost half (49 percent) of non-management teams prefer a mix of both in-person and virtual meetings. A slight majority (51 percent) of non-management respondents prefer in-person meetings, compared with more than a third (38 percent) of management attendees who choose the same format. The survey was conducted at the latest ICR Conference in Orlando, Florida this month and collates responses from management teams, institutional…
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BWX Technologies picks successor general counsel
Ronald Whitford has been with the company since 2017 BWX Technologies (BWXT) earlier this month promoted Ronald Whitford to become senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary. He succeeds Thomas McCabe, who will be special adviser to the company’s CEO until his retirement on August 1. Whitford joined BWXT in 2017 and most recently was vice president, deputy general counsel and assistant corporate secretary. In his new role, he is responsible for BWXT’s legal, ethics and compliance functions. According to his LinkedIn profile, before joining BWXT Whitford was group vice president, associate general counsel and assistant…
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Tyson Foods and Hormel shareholders to vote on antimicrobials
Proponent worried about resistance to drugs used on animals in supply chains Shareholders in Hormel Foods Corporation and Tyson Foods are set to vote in the coming weeks on requests for them to limit the use of antimicrobials on animals due to concerns over growing resistance to such drugs and the broader health and economic impacts that would have. Hormel’s AGM is scheduled for January 31 and Tyson Foods’ for February 9. In each case the proposal, co-filed by The Shareholder Commons and Amundi, asks that the board at issue ‘institute a policy that the company… comply with World Health…
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First Financial Bank hires compliance chief
Mike Parker most recently was director of compliance governance with USAA Federal Savings Bank First Financial Bank has appointed Mike Parker as executive vice president and chief compliance officer. Parker most recently was director of compliance governance with USAA Federal Savings Bank, which he joined in March 2020. According to his LinkedIn profile, he previously spent almost four years with Capital One as director of corporate compliance for financial services and later as director of compliance audit. Before that, he was director of internal audit for capital markets, compliance, corporate administration, finance and lending at Ocwen Financial Corporation. His earlier…
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EverQuote recruits general counsel
Julia Brncic joins from Cigna Nasdaq-listed EverQuote, which operates an online insurance marketplace, has hired Julia Brncic as general counsel and corporate secretary to head up the company’s legal and compliance operations. Brncic joins EverQuote from Cigna, where according to her LinkedIn profile she spent more than three years as senior vice president, chief counsel and corporate secretary. Before that, she spent more than a decade at Express Scripts, most recently as vice president and deputy general counsel. Cigna bought Express Scripts in 2018. Before moving in-house, Brncic was a shareholder in the law firm Polsinelli. Jayme Mendal, CEO of…
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Complying with the SEC’s insider trading reforms
John Ablan and Laura Billiter explain what boards and general counsel need to know about changes to Rule 10b5-1 The SEC last month adopted new rules and rule amendments intended to enhance investor protections against insider trading. The changes add new conditions to the availability of Rule 10b5-1’s affirmative defense to insider trading liability and create new disclosure requirements for public companies and their executive officers and directors. The amendments are the first since the SEC established Rule 10b5-1 in 2000 and reflect growing concern by the commission over the potential for company insiders to technically comply with the conditions…
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The week in GRC: Canada expected to introduce forced labor law and Disney responds to Peltz’s board bid
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Reuters (paywall) reported that Walt Disney Co defended its decision to deny Nelson Peltz a board seat, saying the activist investor ‘lacked the skills and experience’ to help the entertainment company in its business. Peltz earlier this month launched a battle for a board seat at Disney, saying he would help rescue the company from what he called a ‘crisis’ of overspending on its streaming business, the purchase of 21st Century Fox and failed succession planning. ‘Nelson Peltz does not understand Disney’s businesses and lacks the skills and…
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Managing regulatory compliance risks in 2023
Diligent CEO shares advice on how US companies can prepare for new requirements in areas such as cyber-security and climate risk Some of the risks companies face in the coming year will arise from pending regulatory changes and keeping pace with new reporting requirements. Recent research from Diligent finds that regulatory compliance is perceived as a top risk for companies in 2023, with 73 percent of risk professionals concerned about meeting compliance demands. For example, the SEC last March proposed changes to its rules regarding disclosures companies make about cyber-security risk management, strategy, governance and incident reporting. Some industry professionals…
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CVS Health names successor general counsel
Sam Khichi to join the firm from Becton Dickinson and Company Sam Khichi will join CVS Health next month as executive vice president, chief policy officer and general counsel. In his new role, he will head up the company’s legal, compliance and government affairs teams. Effective February 13, Khichi will become a member of the company’s executive leadership team and report to CVS Health president and CEO Karen Lynch. Khichi is moving to CVS Health from medical technology company Becton Dickinson and Company (BD), where he has been general counsel and executive vice president for corporate development, public affairs and…