Archive
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‘It’s basically open season for environmental and social proposals’: Highlights from the ESG Integration Forum – US
Attendees discuss preparing for climate-related rule-making, board oversight of ESG and trends in ESG communications and reporting Earlier this month, professionals gathered virtually at the ESG Integration Forum – US to discuss the ESG issues affecting governance and investor relations teams heading into 2022. The event began with a discussion around some of the recent and looming ESG-related regulatory changes coming out of the SEC. Those changes are set to impact not just companies’ own disclosures but also shareholder proposals in the upcoming proxy season and, as such, set the stage for much thinking and discussion around ESG matters. Panelists…
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Climate and social issues expected to be front and center at AGMs
We explore the issues that have dominated – and will continue to dominate – AGMs, according to industry watchers, and look at how the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way AGMs are conducted Virtual meetings became the standard during the Covid-19 pandemic out of necessity and, with uncertainty over when the pandemic will end, the virtual format will likely remain the standard for the time being. It is likely that, over time, the hybrid meeting will become the dominant format for AGMs, according to Paul Conn, president of global capital markets at Computershare. ‘I think, ultimately, it will come down…
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The week in GRC: Companies eye vaccine booster mandates and more buybacks expected in 2022 amid regulatory scrutiny
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web The Week in GRC will not publish next week due to the holidays and will return in the New Year. In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all our readers! – The Wall Street Journal reported that SEC member Elad Roisman plans to leave the agency by the end of January. Roisman joined the five-member SEC as a Republican commissioner in September 2018, having previously served as chief counsel for Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee. He briefly served as the SEC’s acting chair at the end of the Trump…
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Just one in 10 corporate events for 2022 scheduled as virtual, data shows
Number of events planned for next year is heading back to pre-pandemic levels, but situation could change Of the total number of corporate events currently planned for next year, just 11 percent are slated to be virtual, according to new data from Wall Street Horizon, which has been tracking the announcement of analyst days, investor conferences, capital markets days and other corporate events. Although the data looks at what has been scheduled as of December 16, 2021 (across US companies), the numbers indicate a move toward more of a ‘return to normal’ despite the emergence of the fast-spreading Omicron variant…
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Arcutis Biotherapeutics names successor to general counsel
Mas Matsuda joins company from Halozyme Therapeutics Nasdaq-listed Arcutis Biotherapeutics has hired Mas Matsuda as general counsel and corporate secretary to oversee all legal and compliance matters for the company. Matsuda joins Arcutis from Halozyme Therapeutics where he was senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer (CCO) and corporate secretary. Before his time with Halozyme, he worked at Amgen for 18 years in positions of increasing responsibility, with his last role being vice president for law and global commercial operations. In that role he was responsible for strategic commercial legal support to the company’s US commercial operations organization, in…
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Fortune Brands appoints new general counsel
Hiranda Donoghue joins from Baxter International Corporate Secretary’s Board Diversity report presents data collected from a survey conducted among in-house governance professionals – such as general counsel and corporate secretaries – to give important insights into what types of board diversity information companies are reporting, whether they believe board diversity brings benefits and whether they are trying to enhance diversity on their board. Findings in this report are based on data from an online survey conducted between March and June 2021. Click here to download the report >> Key findings Almost half (48 percent) of respondents say their company does…
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Board Diversity report – available now
NYSE-listed Fortune Brands Home & Security has appointed Hiranda Donoghue as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary to oversee global legal operations, corporate governance and compliance. She reports to CEO Nicholas Fink. Donoghue joins Fortune Brands from global medical products company Baxter International, where she had been deputy general counsel and vice president since 2018. In that role she oversaw legal issues affecting the company’s global business units, global strategy, research and development and contract manufacturing. Before her time at Baxter, Donoghue spent more than 11 years at Walgreens Boots Alliance, most recently as vice president for corporate…
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The week in GRC: SEC proposes tougher insider trading rules and EEOC says Covid-19 cases may be covered by anti-discrimination law
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook faces more calls from shareholders to address harm on its platforms and corporate governance at the company, now known as Meta Platforms. Shareholders including the New York State Common Retirement Fund and Illinois State Treasurer are among an investor group that collectively filed eight shareholder proposals for consideration at the company’s AGM. The proposals include calls for board oversight of efforts to reduce harmful content, an assessment of the risk of the company’s metaverse efforts and a review of the social…
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Norway oil fund: ‘We divested from 43 companies this year’
New pre-screening sees world’s biggest SWF also decide against investing in nine companies The ESG Shareholder Engagement report from Corporate Secretary and IR Magazine presents data from a survey conducted among investors, in-house governance professionals – such as general counsel and corporate secretaries – and investor relations (IR) professionals. They share insights on stewardship and ESG reporting, the ESG issues on their agendas, how they perceive the knowledgeability of others and the involvement of boards and other functions in engagement, among other things. The online survey was conducted between July and September 2021. Click here to download the report >>…
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ESG Shareholder Engagement report – available now
A new pre-screening assessment introduced by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), which manages Norway’s sovereign wealth fund (SWF), has resulted in the fund refraining from investment in nine companies. The fund also reveals that in 2021 it divested from 43 companies that it considered ‘not to have sustainable business models,’ including for issues where companies are ‘exposed to significant risks related to climate change, water management and corruption.’ Since 2012, it says it has divested from 366 companies that it considers not to have sustainable business models. NBIM’s announcement comes shortly after a survey by investment manager Ninety One found…