Shareholder activism remains pervasive in the corporate landscape, as many companies continue to face new, and sometimes more sophisticated, activist situations. Recent activism-related trends indicate that the landscape is continually shifting, and companies’ strategies for dealing with activism should therefore also evolve and adapt...
Over the decade that ended at the close of 2017, GE spent $53.9 billion to repurchase 2.07 billion shares, at average prices of $26. At today's $8.38 ...
As I have previously explained , I think that Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE ) is right in its decision not to give in to demands by activist investor Third Point LLC to break the company apart. I believe that the company will be stronger in the long run if it keeps most of its different businesses under one roof. There is, however, one part of Third Point's assessment I agree with...
The latest campaign for Wall Street hedge fund Elliott Management is a big one, taking on well-known American staple AT&T. The man in charge of pushing the massive company to make the changes the $38 billion fund sees fit is 39-year-old Jesse Cohn, billionaire Paul Singer's right-hand man...
Let’s face it — data security is significant problem for corporate America. If you don’t think so, here’s a statistic that may help convince you: in Q1 2019 alone, there were 1.9 billion records exposed . In fact, a business falls victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds . That’s right — every 14 seconds . In fact, the global cost of online crime is expected to reach $6 trillion by 2021...
The world’s largest asset managers BlackRock and Vanguard control the largest blocks of shares in nearly every publicly traded firm in the U.S. The pattern of ownership is seen in the energy and utility industries, and across the companies at which there were critical climate votes in 2019 (see Figure 13). The two asset managers were both in the top five common stock shareholders at all 28 companies with critical climate resolutions...
In September 2019, the Social and Economic Council (SER) advised the Dutch government to encourage the appointment of more women at the top management layers of the business world. The Council suggested that there needs to be a 30% quota for women for the Supervisory Boards of listed companies. “I believe that a quota will speed up the process,” says Nancy McKinstry, CEO & Chairman of Wolters Kluwer. “ If you create more diversity, you attract more diversity...
With stocks pricey and the economy weakening, more CEOs and boards of directors will come under pressure to create value, including by breaking ...
What makes a CEO outrageous? When he or she has the courage, conviction and candor to change a company’s culture...
California led the way last year with a pioneering law requiring publicly traded companies headquartered in the state to have at least one woman on their board of directors by the end of 2019. But a year after then-Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, signed the measure into law, data indicate that boosting the number of women on boards of directors may be easier said than done for companies in the state...
If lawmakers think businesses are paying corporate execs too much, they probably should focus on corporate governance , not tax issues. If they do ...
Accounting sleuth Harry Markopolos believes GE is engaged in accounting fraud so vast that the storied conglomerate will soon be forced into bankruptcy. Markopolos was the lone person to sound the alarm on Bernie Madoff's Ponzi operation, and gained fame and credibility by turning out to be spectacularly right, raising fears he could be right about GE as well...
Effective board evaluations can drive better board performance. So how are today’s leading boards evolving their evaluations to enhance effectiveness, and what are their companies communicating to stakeholders about their board evaluation processes...
... for the dramatic corporate governance reforms of the past twenty-five years. ... It is important to treat employees well…because it is good business…
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The current iteration of risk evaluation heat maps are akin to slow-to-pixelate Doppler radars. They don't do cyber risk evaluation justice, nor do they convey impact in a thoughtful manner for a board of directors...
As Larry Culp, the CEO of General Electric ( NYSE:GE ) , nears the one-year mark of his tenure, he can probably sleep a little bit easier. Not because GE's stock has recovered -- it's down more than 65% over the last three years. And not because GE has suddenly started to outperform. Its Q2 revenue, adjusted earnings, and free cash flow all saw year-over-year declines...
Vanguard Investment Stewardship Officer Glenn Booraem uses both soft power and hardline voting tactics to tilt corporate governance towards what ...
EBay Inc. has been here and done this, but the sequel may not have the same payoff. In 2014, activist investor Carl Icahn campaigned and hounded eBay EBAY, -0.80% to spin off its faster-growing PayPal PYPL, +0.43% payments business. Hedge fund activist Dan Loeb of Third Point joined in , and they ultimately prevailed in convincing eBay to sell PayPal in a maelstrom that eventually led to the exit of Chief Executive John Donahoe...
Prominent CEOS say that shareholder value is not everything. But can they--and will they--execute on their expanded social initiatives?...
Blockchain, a technology most closely associated with cryptocurrency, is being explored as the solution to better corporate board elections and shareholder votes, which have been plagued by cases of low participation and high-profile miscounts...
181 American CEO’s just jumped off the hamster wheel of short-termism and onto a path paved for all stakeholders, here's why and what it means...
By their very nature, lawyers are cautious, analytical, risk-averse, strategic, and communicative. In other words, the perfect board members. Their legal training prepares them for the variety of challenges corporate board members face and gives them the tools to see, anticipate, and act accordingly. Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro , a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology...
Masayoshi Son was happy to gloss over problems at WeWork. Oversight will need to improve if he wants investors to keep the faith...