Archive
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The week in GRC: Gensler confirmed as SEC chair and CEOs join together on voting rights
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web The SEC has said Activision Blizzard and Amazon are free to exclude union-backed shareholder proposals seeking to increase diversity among the companies’ employees on the grounds that the measures constitute micromanagement. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Reserve Fund filed the proposals, each of which states: ‘Shareholders request that the board of directors of [the company] adopt a policy for improving workforce diversity by requiring that the initial pool of candidates from which new employees are hired by the company shall include, but need…
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Northrop Grumman shareholders to vote on human rights proposal
Proponents want report on company’s ‘high-risk’ products and services Northrop Grumman shareholders will vote next month on a proposal seeking information about the aerospace and defense company’s human rights impact. The measure is brought by Sisters of St Dominic of Caldwell, New Jersey and the School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment Fund. It will be offered for approval at the May 19 AGM and requests that the company publish a report ‘with the results of human rights impact assessments examining the actual and potential human rights impacts associated with high-risk products and services, including those in conflict-affected areas.’ The…
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Amazon faces ‘racial equity audit’ proposal
Shareholder proposals also seek reports on customer due diligence and employee promotions Amazon shareholders are set to vote on a proposal asking the company to conduct a ‘racial equity audit,’ joining investors elsewhere considering measures seeking to assess how companies are approaching racial issues. The proposal is brought by the New York State Common Retirement Fund, the trustee of which is New York State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and other funds and foundations. Specifically, the proponents are seeking a vote on a request that the board commission ‘a racial equity audit analyzing Amazon’s impacts on civil rights, equity, diversity and inclusion,…
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Cornerstone Building Brands hires general counsel
Alena Brenner was most recently deputy general counsel with Ryder System NYSE-listed Cornerstone Building Brands has hired Alena Brenner as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective April 5. Brenner now heads up the company’s legal, compliance and risk-management functions and reports directly to board chair and CEO James Metcalf. Brenner was most recently vice president and deputy general counsel for transportation and logistics company Ryder System. Before that, she was director of commercial law and M&A at the New York headquarters of Anheuser-Busch InBev. She previously spent more than eight years at the New York City office…
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Mr Cooper Group names risk and compliance chief
Kurt Johnson adds the roles to his work as chief credit officer Nasdaq-listed Mr Cooper Group has expanded the role of Kurt Johnson, who has been with the company for five years, most recently as chief credit officer. He is now also executive vice president and chief risk and compliance officer. In his expanded role, Johnson succeeds Steve Covington, who is retiring in June after nearly six years with Mr Cooper Group. Johnson and Covington will work together on the transition over the coming months. Johnson has worked for more than 20 years in the mortgage industry and has led…
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The week in GRC: Companies face surge in ESG proposals and SEC official cautions on Spacs growth
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that companies’ ethics hotlines received fewer reports overall from employees last year despite a surge in Covid-19-related health and safety reports. Third-party managers of the hotlines saw a decrease in the total number of reports in 2020, with 54 mn employees lodging more than 1.3 mn internal reports, a roughly 7.1 percent decrease from 2019, according to Navex Global. Reports regarding concerns or potential wrongdoing related to the environment, health and safety increased by 47 percent as the pandemic hit, according to data…
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PayPal faces proposal on company culture report
Measure seeks information on ‘whether written policies or unwritten norms at the company reinforce racism in company culture’ PayPal shareholders are set to vote on whether to commission a report into company culture as investor interest grows in how US companies are addressing racial issues. The proposal filed by NorthStar Asset Management, Inc Funded Pension Plan states: ‘Shareholders urge the board of directors to prepare a report to shareholders on whether written policies or unwritten norms at the company reinforce racism in company culture.’ In a supporting statement, the proponents encourage the board to assess whether these policies or unwritten…
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ChannelAdvisor finds next general counsel
Diana Allen will transition to become a senior adviser at the start of June E-commerce cloud platform ChannelAdvisor Corporation has appointed Kathy Twiddy as vice president and general counsel, effective June 1. Twiddy will succeed Diana Allen, who has served as vice president and general counsel since 2014 and will transition to become a senior adviser at the start of June. Twiddy has been vice president and US general counsel of Mayne Pharma, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian company Mayne Pharma Group since 2017. Before joining Mayne Pharma, she was a partner with law firm K&L Gates. Earlier in…
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CII proposes legislation on diversity disclosure and multi-class shares
Investor group has filed a draft with the Senate Banking Committee The Council of Institutional Investors (CII) is calling for Congress to pass a law seeking to address board diversity disclosures and unequal stock voting rights via SEC-imposed listing standards. In a recent letter to Senate Banking Committee chair Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and the panel’s ranking member Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, CII general counsel Jeffrey Mahoney presents draft legislation he says would implement recent recommendations from the SEC’s investor advocate. In terms of diversity disclosure, CII’s draft legislation largely mirrors a bill introduced by Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey,…
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Lantheus general counsel to retire
Company appoints successor from in-house Michael Duffy, general counsel and senior vice president for law and public policy will retire from Lantheus Holdings on June 4 after more than 13 years with the North Billerica, Massachusetts-based company. Duffy’s responsibilities will be assumed by Daniel Niedzwiecki, who has worked at the company since 2013 and will report directly to president and CEO Mary Anne Heino. The company will retain Duffy in an advisory capacity. According to his LinkedIn profile, Duffy spent six years as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Point Therapeutics before joining Lantheus. Before that he was…