Archive
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Cabaletta Bio appoints general counsel
Michael Gerard previously worked at Spark Therapeutics In my recently published book Rethinking Securities Law, I examine deficiencies in the existing framework and changes that should be implemented to enhance the securities laws by basing them on sound and consistent principles. I set forth roughly 125 recommendations – a number conveying the extent to which the current regimen needs drastic repair and remediation. Here I outline a few examples of changes that could and should be made. One recommendation is that strict liability under the securities laws be eliminated and replaced with a reasonable care standard. No sound public policy…
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Opinion: Taking a new look at US securities law
Professor Marc Steinberg suggests ways in which the decades-old legal framework could be improved Philadelphia-based Cabaletta Bio has hired Michael Gerard as general counsel. Gerard was most recently associate general counsel at Spark Therapeutics, a member of the Roche Group. During his time with Spark, he supported the global gene therapy manufacturing, business development, technical development, supply chain, quality, alliance management, real estate, IT and facilities teams. Before working at Spark, Gerard held roles of increasing responsibility at Sandoz, a division of the Novartis Group, including executive director and associate general counsel for business development and licensing, strategy and portfolio.…
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Companies with strong corporate purpose outperform on certain metrics, study finds
Outperformance increased during pandemic, CECP and Fortuna Advisors note One of the challenges of stakeholder capitalism – where companies work in the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders – is how to balance the needs of different groups. For example, decisions that are good for investors, such as cost-cutting or automation of factory processes, may be painful for the workforce. But investment in stakeholder value should not be viewed as detrimental to shareholder value, argue the authors of a new report, which finds that companies with a strong corporate purpose tend to outperform on financial and valuation metrics. The…
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The week in GRC: Governor Hochul nominates top New York regulator and Allbirds targets sustainability in IPO filing
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to an analysis by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter, the still relatively small group of companies that have made their debut on US exchanges through direct listings have, on average, outperformed the S&P 500 and a key broader index for IPOs during the same period. In a direct listing, a company simply starts trading on an exchange with a reference price for where trading could start, but no shares are sold in advance at that price. Existing shareholders can…
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Walgreens Boots Alliance hires legal chief
Danielle Gray joining from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Nasdaq-listed Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has hired Danielle Gray as executive vice president and global chief legal officer, effective mid-September. She will report to CEO Roz Brewer and lead the company’s legal and compliance operations. Gray is joining WBA from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, where she has been senior vice president, chief legal and administrative officer and corporate secretary since 2018. In that role she has overseen operations related to legal, corporate compliance, audit, government affairs, health policy, external communications, marketing and community engagement.…
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Lineage hires general counsel and corporate secretary
George Samuel was most recently director and senior counsel for Lytx Clinical-stage biotechnology company Lineage Cell Therapeutics has appointed George Samuel as general counsel and corporate secretary. Samuel was most recently director and senior counsel for Lytx, a role in which he managed the commercial legal operations for the international video telematics tech company. Before that, he was vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Cardiff Oncology, formerly known as Trovagene, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments in oncology. During his time with Cardiff Oncology, Samuel advised on strategic, business development and operational decisions; oversaw capital raising…
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Many boards getting insufficient info on post-Covid work strategy, survey finds
Findings highlight divergent views on role of the board The Covid-19 pandemic has required companies and their boards to take a renewed look at working practices and human capital management. But new research points to widespread differences in how much boards are involved in and informed on such strategies. Earlier this month PwC polled 65 board directors from Fortune 1000 and private companies, along with other C-suite executives, about business priorities and decisions they’re making around the future of work. Asked to characterize their board’s involvement in the development of the company’s strategy for the future of work that will…
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Opinion: Fulfilling the promise of The Business Roundtable’s statement on corporate purpose
CEOs who signed the pledge and are promoting their company’s ESG goals have set expectations very high, writes Nir Kossovsky It’s been two years since 181 CEOs signed The Business Roundtable statement on corporate purpose, committing themselves to serving the interests of ‘all stakeholders,’ especially communities, the environment and investors. This pledge supercharged the ESG movement: companies began competing for high ESG ratings and inclusion in ESG-targeted investment funds, and selling products based on their corporate ESG commitment. Simply put, since August 19, 2019, almost every public company – and many a private company – has sought to fortify its…
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The week in GRC: Delta to raise health costs for unvaccinated staff and CFA’s Barbara Roper joins SEC
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Reuters reported that ISS backed cloud storage vendor Box in its fight with activist investor Starboard Value by recommending that shareholders vote for the company’s directors instead of the hedge fund firm’s nominees. In its report, ISS said shareholders should vote for Box directors Peter Leav and Aaron Levie, arguing that the existing board has made sensible changes and should get more time to effect a turnaround. Earlier this year, Starboard nominated four directors to Box’s 10-person board, saying that the company failed to capitalize on the work-from-home…
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Long-Term Stock Exchange has first listings
Silicon Valley’s new stock exchange gains Asana and Twilio The Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE) has officially listed its first two companies. The listings went live at a virtual opening ceremony held for the employees of LTSE. Asana, a cloud software company founded by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and former Google and Facebook engineer Justin Rosenstein, and Twilio, a cloud communications platform, are the first to list on LTSE. Eric Ries, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, founded LTSE as the first US stock exchange built on the premise that companies and investors perform better when they are enabled to focus on long-term…