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Program on Corporate Governance Advisory Board
- Peter Atkins
- David Bell
- Kerry E. Berchem
- Richard Brand
- Daniel Burch
- Paul Choi
- Jesse Cohn
- Arthur B. Crozier
- Renata J. Ferrari
- Andrew Freedman
- Ray Garcia
- Joseph Hall
- Jason M. Halper William P. Mills
- David Millstone
- Theodore Mirvis
- Philip Richter
- Elina Tetelbaum
- Sebastian Tiller
- Marc Trevino
- Steven J. Williams
Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation
SPACs: Insider IPOs
A special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is an organizational form that allows a group of managers to raise cash via an initial public offering (IPO) in order to acquire a privately held firm. The SPAC organizers hold the cash raised from the IPO in a trust account, invested in government-backed securities. The acquisition, termed the […]
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Posted in Academic Research, Corporate Elections & Voting, Empirical Research, Institutional Investors, Mergers & Acquisitions
Tagged Capital formation, Empty voting, Hedge funds, Institutional Investors, IPOs, Liquidity, Mergers & acquisitions, Shareholder voting, SPACs, Special purpose vehicles
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Revisiting Whistleblower Response Procedures
Over the years, we have repeatedly underscored that effective implementation of well-designed procedures for responding to corporate crises, including for properly addressing whistleblower reports, is critically important in light of increased governmental enforcement activity and the value of securing credit for cooperation and remediation efforts. In yet another reminder of why such preparation is so […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Practitioner Publications, Securities Litigation & Enforcement, Securities Regulation
Tagged Audits, Internal control, Misconduct, SEC enforcement, Securities enforcement, Securities regulation, Whistleblowers
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The Activism Vulnerability Report Q2 2021
Market Update The more things change, the more they stay the same. Although COVID-19 remained a global concern, U.S. equity markets continued to push higher in Q2 2021. For the year, the S&P 500 Index is up 18.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has returned 14.7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index has returned 14.2%. […]
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Posted in Boards of Directors, Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Mergers & Acquisitions, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Board composition, Boards of Directors, Diversity, ESG, Institutional Investors, Mergers & acquisitions, Proxy season, Shareholder activism, Shareholder voting
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Investors’ Response to the #MeToo Movement: Does Corporate Culture Matter?
Good corporate governance is a bedrock of corporate America, with a central tenet being the board of directors’ role in effectively overseeing and monitoring the firm. Recently, institutional investors have focused on changing board composition. Beginning in 2017, two of the “Big 3” institutional investors, State Street and BlackRock, began an ESG activist campaign for […]
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Posted in Academic Research, Boards of Directors, ESG, Institutional Investors
Tagged #MeToo, Board composition, Boards of Directors, Corporate culture, Diversity, ESG, Institutional Investors, Misconduct, Reputation
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How the Best Boards Approach CEO Succession Planning
Many boards aren’t fully prepared for CEO departures despite succession planning being one of their primary responsibilities. If we’ve learned anything during the pandemic, it’s that anything can happen. There are important steps directors can take to be better prepared for both planned departures and the unexpected. Why CEO succession planning can be hard Planning […]
Click here to read the complete postBoard Practices Quarterly: The Outspoken Corporation
Corporate leaders are increasingly speaking out on potentially controversial social, political, and environmental issues as a matter of principle and/or in response to changing stakeholder pressures and expectations that corporate America can influence the dialogue on these issues. As is the case with many other corporate practices, taking a stance publicly on controversial or sensitive […]
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Posted in Boards of Directors, ESG, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Boards of Directors, Engagement, ESG, Reputation, Stakeholders, Surveys
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ESG in 2021 So Far: An Update
The rapidly growing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters that marked 2020 continued to shape events for companies operating or based in the U.K. and Europe in 2021. Discussions of ESG are occurring at all levels, from the boardroom to investors to employees, and governments, regulators and companies are all being encouraged to […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Boards of Directors, ESG, Institutional Investors, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Board composition, Boards of Directors, Climate change, Cybersecurity, Diversity, Environmental disclosure, ESG, EU, Europe, Executive Compensation, Institutional Investors, International governance, Shareholder activism, Sustainability, UK
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Vermont’s Fossil Fuel Suit Underscores Climate-Change Pressures Faced by U.S. Companies
Companies in the United States and elsewhere continue to face extreme pressure to respond to climate change, with respect to both business operations and disclosures. In the most recent U.S. development on this front, the State of Vermont yesterday brought civil claims against a series of energy companies under its state consumer protection statute, alleging […]
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Posted in Accounting & Disclosure, Court Cases, ESG, Practitioner Publications
Tagged Climate change, Consumer protection, Disclosure, Environmental disclosure, ESG, Securities litigation, State law, Sustainability, Vermont
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Weekly Roundup: September 10–16, 2021
Financial Reporting and Moral Sentiments Posted by Radhika Lunawat (UC Irvine), Timothy W. Shields (Chapman University), and Gregory Waymire (Emory University), on Friday, September 10, 2021 Tags: Behavioral finance, Financial reporting, Information environment, Management, Oversight, Reputation Remarks by Chair Gensler Before the Investor Advisory Committee Posted by Gary Gensler, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on Friday, September 10, 2021 Tags: Financial technology, Rule 10b-5-1, SEC, SEC enforcement, SEC […]
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Posted in Weekly Roundup
Tagged Weekly Roundup
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