The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Sat, 10 Jul 2021 13:14:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.2 Ten Topics for Directors in 2016 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2016/01/06/ten-topics-for-directors-in-2016/ https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2016/01/06/ten-topics-for-directors-in-2016/#respond Wed, 06 Jan 2016 14:16:46 +0000 http://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=72242?d=20160108151723EST Posted by Kerry E. Berchem, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Editor's Note: Kerry E. Berchem is partner and head of the corporate practice group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. This post is based on a summary of an Akin Gump publication authored by Ms. Berchem, Rick L. Burdick, Tracy Crum, Christine B. LaFollette, and J. Kenneth Menges, Jr. The complete publication is available here.

U.S. public companies face a host of challenges as they enter 2016. Here is our annual list of hot topics for the boardroom in the coming year:

  1. Oversee the development of long-term corporate strategy in an increasingly interdependent and volatile world economy
  2. Cultivate shareholder relations and assess company vulnerabilities as activist investors target more companies with increasing success
  3. Oversee cybersecurity as the landscape becomes more developed and cyber risk tops director concerns
  4. Oversee risk management, including the identification and assessment of new and emerging risks
  5. Assess the impact of social media on the company’s business plans
  6. Stay abreast of Delaware law developments and other trends in M&A
  7. Review and refresh board composition and ensure appropriate succession
  8. Monitor developments that could impact the audit committee’s already heavy workload
  9. Set appropriate executive compensation as CEO pay ratios and income inequality continue to make headlines
  10. Prepare for and monitor developments in proxy access

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]]> https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2016/01/06/ten-topics-for-directors-in-2016/feed/ 0 Top 10 Topics for Directors in 2014 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2013/12/31/top-10-topics-for-directors-in-2014/ https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2013/12/31/top-10-topics-for-directors-in-2014/#comments Tue, 31 Dec 2013 14:00:26 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/?p=57029?d=20141216093059EST Posted by Noam Noked, co-editor, HLS Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, on Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Editor's Note: The following post comes to us from Kerry E. Berchem, partner and co-head of the corporate practice group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. This post is based on an Akin Gump corporate alert primarily drafted by Tracy Crum and N. Kathleen Friday; the full publication, including footnotes, is available here.

U.S. public companies face a host of challenges as they enter 2014. Here is our list of hot topics for the boardroom in the coming year:

  • 1. Oversee strategic planning amid continuing fiscal uncertainty and game-changing advances in information technology
  • 2. Address cybersecurity
  • 3. Set appropriate executive compensation as shareholders increasingly focus on pay for performance and activists target pay disparity
  • 4. Address the growing demands of compliance oversight
  • 5. Assess the impact of health care reform on the company’s benefit plans and cost structure
  • 6. Determine whether the CEO and board chair positions should be separated
  • 7. Ensure appropriate board composition in light of increasing focus on director tenure and diversity
  • 8. Cultivate shareholder relations and strengthen defenses as activist hedge funds target more companies
  • 9. Address boardroom confidentiality
  • 10. Consider whether to adopt a forum selection bylaw

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