Shareholders Archive

Shareholders

The Clorox Company’s governance lead discusses engagement and ESG reporting

Dec 23, 2019
Ben Ashwell
The Clorox Company’s governance lead discusses engagement and ESG reporting
When Corporate Secretary caught up with Angela Hilt, vice president, corporate secretary and deputy general counsel at The Clorox Company, she discussed her role in the company’s shareholder engagement efforts, its ESG reporting and its diversity and inclusion measures in the boardroom. Hilt, who was nominated for the governance professional of the year (large cap) award, has been influential in expanding the company’s shareholder efforts so that they include bo...
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Shareholders

The week in GRC: Apple to face human rights shareholder proposal, and COSO issues new cyber-security framework

Dec 20, 2019
Ben Ashwell
The week in GRC: Apple to face human rights shareholder proposal, and COSO issues new cyber-security framework
The week in GRC will be taking a week off for the holidays. It will return on January 3. From all at Corporate Secretary, happy holidays and best wishes for 2020.  – Vox Media announced plans to cut 200 freelance positions for sports reporters based in California, as a result of a new law that was intended to improve working conditions for companies like Uber and Lyft, which rely heavily on contractors rather than employees, the ...
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Shareholders

GM governance team discusses benefits of collaboration on proxy statements

Dec 17, 2019
Ben Ashwell
GM governance team discusses benefits of collaboration on proxy statements
GM’s securities counsel John Kim says he is proud of how the company worked cross-functionally to deliver its award-winning proxy statement this year. GM won the best proxy statement (large cap) category at the Corporate Governance Awards for the second consecutive year. The company’s 2018 proxy statement was largely a response to a proxy contest with Greenlight Capital, whereas the 2019 statement was used to focus more on the company’s long-term vision. ...
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Shareholders

Experts highlight need for engagement flexibility

Dec 06, 2019
Ben Maiden
Experts highlight need for engagement flexibility
Companies need to be able to customize and adapt their shareholder engagement efforts, both to meet investor needs and to catch the attention of investors they wish to meet, according to governance experts. Many issuers can be ‘tone deaf’ going into calls or meetings with shareholders, Elizabeth Saunders, partner with Clermont Partners, told delegates during a panel discussion at the recent Cor...
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Shareholders

Zevin Asset Management criticizes shareholder proposal reform plan

Dec 03, 2019
Ben Maiden
Zevin Asset Management criticizes shareholder proposal reform plan
Zevin Asset Management has complained to the SEC about its plans to raise thresholds for submitting shareholder proposals, while other institutional investors are calling for more time to study the proposal. The Boston-based firm, which integrates ESG issues into its financial analysis, ‘strongly oppose[s]’ the agency’s proposal, arguing that it would ‘severely limit the rights of ...
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Shareholders

Glass Lewis responds to SEC’s 14a-8 no-action shift

Nov 27, 2019
Ben Maiden
Glass Lewis responds to SEC’s 14a-8 no-action shift
Glass Lewis will expect companies to keep shareholder proposals they don’t like on their proxies even if the SEC declines to rule on the matter.  The proxy adviser’s stance is a response to the SEC division of corporation finance’s recently revised approach to handling shareholder proposals that companies want to exclude from AGMs. The division announced in September that from proxy season 2020 it will in some cases respond orally to no-action reques...
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Shareholders

SEC proposal highlights differences on shareholder proposals

Nov 08, 2019
Ben Maiden
SEC proposal highlights differences on shareholder proposals
The SEC on Tuesday voted to propose amendments to Rule 14a-8, which governs the process for determining which shareholder proposals wind up in a company’s proxy statement, in a move highlighting the differing views companies and investors have on the process. At present, a proponent must hold at least $2,000 or 1 percent of a company’s shares for at least one year to be eligible to submit a propo...
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Shareholders

Canadian shareholder activism increases in scope, says Laurel Hill

Nov 07, 2019
Mike Schnitzel
Canadian shareholder activism increases in scope, says Laurel Hill
Shareholder activism in Canada is evolving and becoming more sophisticated. While down in terms of volume, it has ‘grown in prominence, scale and momentum,’ according to Laurel Hill’s fifth annual Trends in Corporate Governance report. So far in 2019, 44 companies have been subject to activist demands in Canada, compared with 69 in all of last year. ‘When people think of activism, they generally think of board battles,’ says David Salmon, president ...
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