The great and the good of Hong Kong society gathered at the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre to hear Mervyn Davies, Lord Davies of Abersoch, talk about the 21st Century Boardroom . But the real reason was to continue the 30% Club's assault on the ...
Check out Simone Joyaux's new book about how to fix a lousy situation in the boardroom. This book explains why board members are (or aren’t) effective. And, this book gives you specific strategies and tools to fire the lousy board members and help the others succeed. Maybe this book is too shocking for you. Or maybe not.
Public companies face heightened corporate governance standards and increased liability exposure. If an IPO is in your company’s future, you will need to prepare for a corporate governance environment that is far more complicated and stringent than you likely have today...
For more than four years, billionaire investor Carl Icahn made a huge bet on Forest Laboratories, agitating for change at the drug maker. With more than an 11% stake in the company, Forest Labs was Icahn’s biggest trading position going into 2013 and his second biggest trading position going into 2014—trailing only his bet on Apple. He is the company’s second-biggest shareholder...
Antony Jenkins may have tried to do the right thing at Barclays by waiving his own payout, but even the bonus-hungry City is shocked by the bankers' shameful behaviour What a difference a year makes. Antony Jenkins was applauded by the City 12 months ago when he set out his strategy for turning Barclays into the "go to" bank by restricting costs and rooting out the bad apples in the investment ...
Corporate governance . Anything you can do, Icahn do better. The pressure on companies from activist shareholders continues to grow...
In researching companies that lead the way in global problem solving, I observed three important success factors: effective corporate board governance; stakeholder engagement; and collaboration with other companies and NGOs/nonprofits. The motivation for multinational corporations to find solutions to the world's greatest challenges is that companies benefit -- while improving the world -- by reducing costs, mitigating risks, and increasing profits. I contend that one of the best ways for businesses to develop their leaders, engage with stakeholders, and partner with NGOs/nonprofits is by involving their executives and professional on NGO/nonprofit boards -- strategically and thoughtfully.
One issue has been largely over-looked in the discussions about women leadership: Do the traits of one gender have an advantage over the other in the boardroom? Direct and self-promotional personalities have long been associated with leadership, and throughout the world men have been reinforced for taking charge, being focused on a goal, and directing people toward that end. In fact, a whole leadership model has been built around a command-and-control style. Women who competed with men to excel in this type of behavior were at a disadvantage.
[Registration Required] The Dodd-Frank Act, passed in 2010, mandated hundreds of major regulations to control bank risk-taking, with the aim of preventing a repeat of the taxpayer bailouts of "too big to fail" financial institutions. These regulations are on top of many rules adopted after the 2008 financial crisis to make banks more secure. Yet at a Senate hearing in January, Elizabeth Warren asked a bipartisan panel of four economists (including Allan Meltzer) whether the Dodd-Frank Act would end the problem of too-big-to-fail banks. Every one answered no.
Starting a new directorship means you may be confronted with a range of challenges. They might include getting to know a group of new people or an unknown culture. Since new directors lack a window to see into how a particular board works, here are few areas of focus to help create early success
Earlier today, Comcast Cable announced that it agreed to acquire Time Warner Cable in a $45 billion mega-deal...
The final element in this emergent, extended form of corporate governance is modern communications technology. The instantaneous, global dissemination of information between these parties through the Internet, Twitter, and other electronic avenues makes ...
On Tuesday, Janet Yellen will offer her first public remarks as chair of the Federal Reserve in the central bank's semi-annual testimony before Congress on monetary policy.
No one expects much new information to come from the event, which means the market reaction could be limited, barring any unexpected curveballs.
"Management accounting is a critical aspect of the finance function because it informs the board, investors and management why the numbers are what they are, not just what the numbers are" says Douglas Flint, Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings. He was speaking about the launch of a comprehensive framework to bring consistency to global management accounting practices around the world.
If a company adds three eminently qualified women to their board, and it is characterized as a gender play or way to avoid a firestorm of criticism, is that progress? Why do we assume that these women were chosen simply to avoid the negative press that Facebook and Twitter received when they went public for not having any women on their boards?
Tags: Corporate Governance , Corporate Strategy, More... Corporate Governance , Corporate Strategy, Reporting & Transparency. Why smart governance is the secret to sustainability success. Far too often, corporate responsibility and sustainability programs ...
Bear with me here but I think Barclays Plc chief executive Antony Jenkins has this backwards. The board offered him a bonus of somewhere between, let's say, 1 pound and 2.75 million pounds, and he hit back with a counteroffer of zero pounds. The board accepted his counteroffer...
In a discussion of his new book, 'Boards That Lead: When to Take Charge, When to Partner, and When to Stay Out of the Way,' co-author Michael Useem describes the expanded role of boards of directors – including Lenovo’s – in today’s more demanding corporate culture...
For the first time in modern history, we now have technology affecting every single sector in the economy. From agriculture to shipping, companies take inputs and collects data to help drive business. This, as an example of the 21st century business environment, requires directors to be up-to-date and will most probably drive the addition of younger board members.
CNBC's Jim Cramer explains what Microsoft needs to do now after announcing its long-awaited CEO appointment...
Early today I wrote about the billion-dollar convertible bond Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) announced this morning. This bond is the latest salvo in the fight between activist investor Bill Ackman, who thinks Herbalife is a pyramid scheme and has wagered accordingly, and the company. Herbalife is planning to use a large portion of the new bond’s proceeds to buy back its stock, trying to offset Ackman’s recent upper hand...
“Still No Progress After Years of No Progress,” reads Catalyst’s recently released 2013 census of women directors and executive officers in the Fortune 500. Indeed, the news is not good: the percentage of women directors in the Fortune 500 at 16.9% has remained flat (it was 16.6% in 2012 and 16.1% in 2011). Why, when there’s so much conversation about the topic, are the numbers not moving?
2020Women on Boards, an advocacy organization of 50 affiliates, including women's groups, institutional investors and high-profile CEOs, is sending out "W" (for "winner") certificates this month to the 496 companies that have 20 percent or more board seats held by women. While this number is a small percentage of all the companies in the country, it does represent a gain of 51 companies in the 2020 database of 1500 companies...
While trends like cyber security and increased activism from investors compete for attention with the usual board concerns, like compensation and compliance, one law firm recently listed boardroom confidentiality as one of the top ten concerns of 2014...