Archive
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The week in GRC: Energy companies face pressure on climate and study finds spike in diverse board appointments
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Reuters reported that Goldman Sachs said media lawyer Kimberley Harris would become its newest board member, a move that makes the bank’s board of directors nearly 50 percent composed of women. Harris is NBCUniversal Media’s general counsel and an executive vice president at Comcast Corporation. Her appointment to the Goldman Sachs board comes as banks face growing calls to add diverse and female candidates to their top rungs of leadership. Goldman Sachs has publicly set specific internal targets aimed at hiring and promoting more women into its senior…
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Activist nominees elected to ExxonMobil board
Energy company reveals preliminary voting results ExxonMobil has acknowledged that shareholders at its AGM today voted to install two director nominees from activist investor Engine No 1. In a statement available at the time of writing, the company says that based on preliminary vote estimates shareholders elected eight ExxonMobil nominees to the board and that vote results for five nominees are too close to call. One of Engine No 1’s nominees was not elected, according to the energy company. Shareholders at the ExxonMobil and Chevron AGMs today also voted on shareholder proposals requesting climate-related accounting looking at whether and how…
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KeyCorp recruits new general counsel
James Waters joins from Frost Bank and Cullen/Frost Bankers NYSE-listed KeyCorp has hired James Waters as general counsel and corporate secretary, effective July 6. Waters joins Cleveland, Ohio-based KeyCorp from his role as general counsel and corporate secretary at Frost Bank and Cullen/Frost Bankers. In that role he has worked on corporate governance and law, director compensation and board relations, strategic business initiatives, leading crisis response teams, proxy statements and risk management, among other things. Before joining Frost Bank, Waters was a partner at law firm Haynes and Boone, where he spent 18 years representing banks and companies. He was…
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Almost 40 percent support JPMorgan Chase racial equity audit
Proposal one of several at major financial institutions this proxy season A shareholder proposal asking JPMorgan Chase to conduct a racial equity audit has – while not securing a majority – gained significant levels of support among investors. The proposal, brought by the CtW Investment Group, was backed by 39.8 percent of votes cast at the company’s AGM last week. Specifically, it requests that the bank’s board ‘oversee a racial equity audit analyzing JPMorgan’s adverse impacts on non-white stakeholders and communities of color. Input from civil rights organizations, employees and customers should be considered in determining the specific matters to…
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Hershey names general counsel
James Turoff had been serving as acting general counsel since earlier this year The Hershey Company has promoted James Turoff to become senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. In his new role Turoff heads up the company’s global legal, compliance and ethics, government relations, corporate security and corporate secretary teams. He reports to chair and CEO Michele Buck. Turoff had been serving as acting general counsel since Damien Atkins, who had been senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, left the company earlier this year. WilmerHale recently announced that Atkins has joined the law firm as a senior…
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Support for say-on-pay votes continues to erode in US, warn compensation advisers
Where pay is misaligned with performance – either due to Covid-19 or not – large asset managers are more willing to oppose CEO pay packages President Joe Biden on Thursday issued an executive order intended to gather information about the financial risks posed by the climate crisis, including potentially imposing rules seeking climate-related disclosures from companies. ‘We know that the climate crisis, whether through rising seas or extreme weather, already presents increasing risks to infrastructure, investments and businesses. Yet, these risks are often hidden,’ a White House statement reads. ‘With so much at stake, this executive order ensures that the…
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Biden targets climate-related financial risk
Executive order part of efforts toward net-zero emissions by 2050 While investors are increasing their scrutiny of executive compensation packages again this year, the pandemic may not be playing a meaningful role, according to executive compensation experts. Investors are increasing their scrutiny of executive compensation packages again this year, but the focus continues to be on pay for performance, rather than other impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of large companies in the US have received significant opposition to their executive compensation packages during this proxy season. At least 14 companies in the S&P 500 – including AT&T, GE,…
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The week in GRC: Group attacks ‘woke’ capitalism, and companies pledge disability representation disclosures
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T and Discovery reached a deal to combine their media assets into a new, publicly traded company. The new business will be led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The companies said Jason Kilar will retain his title as CEO of AT&T’s WarnerMedia division but declined to say whether he would remain with the newly combined company after it secures regulatory approval. WarnerMedia owns cable channels such as HBO, CNN, TNT and TBS as well as the Warner Bros television and film studio.…
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American Express shareholders seek DEI report
Almost six in 10 support proposal at AGM American Express investors have supported a shareholder proposal requesting that the company publish a report each year assessing its diversity and inclusion efforts. The proposal, brought by As You Sow, garnered 59.7 percent support among votes cast at the American Express AGM earlier this month. The vote is one of a series this proxy season of similar shareholder proposals, including several urging companies to conduct racial equity audits. Investors are looking at corporate responses to the growing pressure for progress on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) following last summer’s Black Lives Matter…
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Almost 40 percent back Sempra Energy climate-lobbying proposal
Proposal brought by As You Sow, Calvert Research and Management and Illinois State treasurer A shareholder proposal regarding Sempra Energy’s lobbying in relation to climate change has gained significant – though not majority – backing. Roughly 38 percent of votes cast at the company’s May 14 AGM were in favor of a proposal brought by co-filers As You Sow, Calvert Research and Management and Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs. The proposal asks the Sempra Energy’s board to issue a report describing ‘if, and how, Sempra’s lobbying activities (direct and through trade associations) align with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit…