Archive
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Real estate and energy sectors branded ‘ESG laggards’ but outperform peers, Federated Hermes finds
ESG continues to deliver performance despite headwinds, new research claims NYSE-listed Spire Global has appointed Boyd Johnson as chief legal officer (CLO). He is a member of the company’s executive team and reports to Peter Platzer, CEO and co-founder of Spire. Johnson most recently was general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at SPS Commerce. During his decade with the company, he helped lead two public offerings and 10 acquisitions. Before his time at SPS Commerce, he was senior vice president and CLO at Merrill Corporation, where he created and ran the company’s SaaS contract management business unit. Johnson…
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Comerica general counsel takes on CLO title
Von Hays has been with financial services company for 15 years NYSE-listed Comerica has given company veteran Von Hays the title of executive vice president and chief legal officer (CLO) – general counsel. Hays previously held the title of senior vice president and general counsel for human resources, litigation and corporate operations. He had held the position of interim CLO since May this year. He continues to report to Curt Farmer, chair, president and CEO of Comerica. Since joining the company in 2007, Hays has held a number of leadership roles with responsibilities for human resources, litigation and corporate operations.…
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The week in GRC: Conservatives mastering the art of the proxy ballot and fast-food industry loses ‘super-sized’ battle
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – CNBC reported that Tesla violated workers’ rights when it banned shirts with pro-union insignia at the factory, according to a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) this week. The NLRB is now mandating that Elon Musk’s electric vehicle maker ‘cease and desist from maintaining and enforcing the overly broad team-wear policy that prohibits production associates from wearing black union shirts’. The decision contradicts a 2019 ruling over dress code policies at Walmart that allowed the retail titan to limit employees from wearing (but not ban) pro-union…
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Shareholder value focus remains but generational shift happening in investment, says Citi head of European shareholder advisory
E in ESG more likely to be viewed as potential value play, says Kiran Moorthy as he talks ESG trends Economic opportunities linked to the E in ESG are more easily identifiable to investors as having the potential to drive economic returns, according to Kiran Moorthy, head of European shareholder advisory at Citi. Kiran Moorthy, Citi Talking to Corporate Secretary’s sister publicationIR Magazineabout the growing pressure companies face to comment on social and political issues – the subject of our forthcoming fall issue cover story – Moorthy notes that although thereisan increased focus on stakeholder value, investors remain ‘primarily focused…
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Tips for getting your proxy statement together
Coeur Mining’s Robyn Koyner shares her advice on proxy statement success New proxy rules introduced by the SEC now require the use of a ‘universal proxy card’ in all non-exempt director election contests, dramatically changing the proxy contest landscape at public companies. Making it significantly easier for shareholders to nominate dissident candidates for election means companies are increasingly likely to face dissident nominations (or nomination threats) from activists known to seek proxy contests, as well as new shareholders for which the barrier to entry has been lowered. Travis Wofford, Baker Botts ‘Under the new rules, shareholders will be entitled to…
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Understanding the impact of the SEC’s amended proxy rules
Changes could affect shareholder activism Give us an outline of your process in terms of major milestones across the year. At Coeur Mining, our process has a regular cadence that kicks off in the third quarter of each year. We start by benchmarking our proxy statement against others – not only for content, but also for style, formatting and readability, among other metrics – as we start to think about layout and new content we might want to include. As we move into the fourth quarter, our regular fall investor outreach program provides important feedback on the proxy statement and…
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What’s next for board diversity and composition?
Growing demands for diversity, equity & inclusion disclosure and reporting While the majority of FTSE 350 companies have opted for a purely physical AGM this year, a sizable minority have selected a full hybrid meeting where both in-person and virtual attendees can take part in proceedings, according to new research. In a review of AGM arrangements published since January, 56 companies went for a hybrid AGM, compared with 94 that chose a physical meeting with no virtual engagement. A further 34 companies decided on a physical meeting with a virtual element, such as an audio or video stream, but did…
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UK companies warm to hybrid AGMs, finds report by White & Case
Purely physical meetings remain most popular option, according to review of 2022 AGM season so far Regulators and investors are stepping up pressure on companies to do more on the diversity and composition of their boards. In March 2022, the Investor Association (IA) announced that the Institutional Voting Information Service will, for the first time, issue its strongest warning – a ‘red top’ – for FTSE 100 companies that fail to meet the Parker Review target of having one ethnically diverse board member, and an ‘amber top’ for FTSE 250 companies that do not disclose the ethnic diversity of their…
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XPO Logistics hires legal chief for spin-off
Jeff Firestone has spent more than 20 years with UPS Ceres has welcomed the SEC’s two ESG fund proposals but is asking it to consider changes that address, among other things, investors’ engagement practices. The SEC in May proposed two sets of rule changes dealing with different aspects of ESG-related investing. One proposal involves changes to rules and reporting forms designed, the SEC says, ‘to promote consistent, comparable and reliable information for investors concerning funds’ and advisers’ incorporation of [ESG] factors.’ The planned changes would broadly categorize certain types of ESG strategies and require funds and advisers to provide more…
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Ceres seeks tweaks to SEC’s ESG funds plans
Commission proposes changes to fund name rule and ESG practices disclosures Freight transportation services company XPO Logistics has hired Jeff Firestone to become chief legal officer (CLO) of RXO, the planned spin-off of XPO’s brokered transportation platform. Firestone joins XPO as CLO of the company’s North American transportation division and will head up RXO’s legal organization when the separation is complete. He reports to Drew Wilkerson, who is president of transportation for North America and will become chief executive officer of RXO. Jeff Firestone Most recently, Firestone was United Parcel Service’s (UPS) deputy general counsel for regulatory compliance and risk,…