Board effectiveness begins with and depends on who’s in the boardroom. Management looks to the board for oversight and counsel, and it’s critical that the directors evaluating information and making key decisions be the right people for the company and for …
Key Takeaways: On October 21, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released its 2025 Examination Priorities (the “Priorities”). The Priorities provide insight into the products, practices …
Annual sustainability reports remain a critical platform for companies to articulate their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) progress and objectives. We conducted an in-depth analysis of DEI disclosures to understand how they evolved in 2024. Our …
Posted by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, on Friday, November 8, 2024 Editor's Note: This roundup contains a collection of the posts published on the Forum during the week of November 1-7, 2024 Posted by Charu Chandrasekhar, Erez …
After Donald Trump’s stunning electoral victory, the question is what this means for shareholder activism. Numerous activist investors openly endorsed Trump for president in 2024 and donated tens of millions of dollars and more to his campaign and related …
Companies need an organized set of engagement procedures with priorities and the ability to call on internal cross-department coordination – and director participation – when needed, depending on what is on the engagement agenda. Some companies have a …
How pervasive is the strategic use of corporate political spending to avoid agency enforcement? In a new working paper, I attempt to gain traction on this question with data on nearly two decades of corporate political spending and investigations by the U. …
There’s a growing imperative for companies to take a comprehensive approach to AI–but do you really need a Chief AI Officer in the C-suite for that? Many organizations today think hiring a Chief AI Officer role (or similar) is enough to get ahead of the …
It may seem obvious that “[e]quity cannot bless th[e] deliberate violation of an explicit statutory prohibition,” but in the recent Delaware Court of Chancery decision, TS Falcon I, LLC v. Golden Mountain Financial Holdings Corp., Vice Chancellor Lori Will …
How money is managed in the stock market is of first-order importance, particularly in the United States, where the plurality of individuals participate in equity markets through delegated portfolio management (i.e., professional portfolio managers). A …
The 2024 CPA-Zicklin Index is published shortly before Election Day and at an unparalleled time in the nation’s political history. The Index’s data reflect leading companies holding firm overall to established norms of political disclosure and …
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) released its 2025 examination priorities on October 21, 2024 (the “2025 Priorities”). The 2025 Priorities highlight a wide range of topics for entities subject …
Tracking Campaign Contributions to Candidates, PACs and Parties As companies navigate evolving public and stakeholder expectations around political and policy engagement, CEOs are at the forefront of shaping the approaches of their organizations. Beyond …
Key Takeaways: On October 22, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges in separate actions against four technology companies who had been downstream victims of the unprecedented 2020 SUNBURST cyber-attack. These actions …
The New York Stock Exchange’s (NYSE) 1920s-era annual shareholder meeting requirement for listed closed-end funds (CEFs) has left open an end-run around the governance protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act), the landmark law governing …
Just 5% of board directors are under the age of 50. But research indicates that more age-diverse boards may possess unique business advantages. A company’s governance practices can provide valuable insights into its risk management and sustainability—and a …
Below is a summarized collection of insights that we have heard from Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) recently. Covering topics such as how global businesses are approaching sustainability strategies, responding to reporting requirements, addressing …
Posted by John Borneman, Matt Mazzoni, and Mira Yoo, Semler Brossy Consulting Group LLC, on Sunday, October 27, 2024 Posted by Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, on Monday, October 28, 2024 Posted by Brianna Castro, Krishna Shah, and Aaron …
The long shadow of former CEOs as change agents has touched companies from Starbucks to Disney. Charismatic former executives have successfully lobbied company board members to oust their successors. These situations rely heavily on past relationships and …
Well-established companies thrive by accumulating capabilities, including by partnering with start-up companies. In those partnering arrangements, the established company often has greater capabilities, market access, technology capital and management …
