Moderna’s new CFO left after three days, following announcement the his previous employer was being investigated for possible financial reporting improprieties. Nevertheless, he received a severance payment. VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow responded. Nell Minow, vice chair of ValueEdge Advisers, a firm that advises investors on corporate governance, said the episode represented an “outrageous” failure…
Tag: corporate governance
Corporate Governance Considerations Under the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rules | Bracewell LLP – JDSupra
As we have noted previously, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently proposed rules governing climate-related disclosures, if adopted as proposed, would represent a sea change to the existing public-company disclosure regime. We focus here on the corporate-governance aspects of the proposed rules to help public company boards, executive management and in-house attorneys begin to…
The queasy ‘Enron feeling’ that directors must never ignore | Financial Times
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted in an article looking back on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of Enron. “Unquestionably, boards are sharper, more independent, more focused, and more engaged,” says Nell Minow, vice chair of ValueEdge Advisors and a longstanding critic of poor governance and campaigner for shareholder rights. Still, since 2001,…
We’ve Said it Before — Arena Naming is a Sell Signal: Staples Center Renamed Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
We predict this deal will not last 20 years. Unlikely that the company will, either. [On] December 25, the Staples Center becomes Crypto.com Arena in a new 20-year naming deal. The Los Angeles Times reported that event-promotion company AEG made a deal with the Singapore-based cryptocurrency website, with the new name reportedly costing over $700…
ICGN Governance Principles Updates: Evolution of corporate governance in the face of existential change | Ethical Boardroom
Key governance changes: We have emphasised the importance of independent board leadership and a clear division of responsibilities between the role of the chair and CEO to avoid unfettered powers of decision-making. We also think the roles of both should be clearly described and publicly disclosed as well as the role of the lead independent…
Ira Millstein and Leo Strine on Corporate Governance Then, Now, and Soon
Two of the wisest, most experienced, and most influential people in corporate governance, Ira Millstein and former Chief Justice and Chancellor of Delaware, Leo E. Strine, Jr. had a conversation moderated by Columbia professor Eric Talley. It is published in the current issue of the American Bar Association’s Business Law Journal. Some highlights: On what…
Fitch: Increased Impact of Governance on Credit Ratings
Fitch Ratings expects idiosyncratic governance weaknesses to weigh on ratings more often than previously as the tolerance of governance failures from a wide range of stakeholders (e.g. authorities, investors, creditors, customers and employees) declines. It is likely that investors’ growing focus on ESG topics and better ESG-related disclosure will mean that governance failures will have…
Approach Hyperbolic Claims About the New Corporate Governance Data with Skepticism
The authors of this new corporate governance data set, Jens Frankenreiter, Cathy Hwang, Yaron Nili, and Eric L. Talley, should not be blamed for the hyperbolic claims. The University of Virginia’s story about it is. Their headline: Why Everything We Thought We Knew About Corporate Governance Is Wrong. The paper is titled more modestly and…
CII Spring Conference 2021–Highlights
From VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow: I remember taking the escalator down to the CII conference last year and seeing boxes of hand sanitizer and antiseptic wipes. People greeted each other with elbow taps and made grim jokes about this new virus we were hearing about. A week later, everything shut down. So, this year’s…
Ranking Digital Rights
The RDR Index evaluated 26 of the world’s most powerful digital platforms and telecommunications companies on their disclosed policies and practices affecting people’s rights to freedom of expression and privacy. Here’s the ranking sorted by governance.