NACD this week polled nearly 200 members to better understand how directors and their boards are responding to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While the economic, social, and political impacts remain in flux—evidenced in one dimension by the S&P 500 declines and gains of nearly 10 percent last week—corporate boards are in a unique…
As scrutiny of public company leadership increases, corporations are feeling the pressure to get out ahead of criticism by examining and adjusting the makeup of their boards. This makes 2020 a great time for business leaders interested in joining corporate boards—including professionals from nontraditional backgrounds and underrepresented groups—to make the jump into one of these…
Bank of America Corp. greenlighted a $26.5 million pay package for its top executive in 2019 after the bank’s shares marked their best run in years. Brian Moynihan is set to receive compensation that matches the preceding year’s package. His pay includes a $1.5 million base salary and $25 million worth of restricted stock, the bank said…
What boards choose to disclose about a CEO’s departure could impact how Institutional Shareholder Services makes voting recommendations this proxy season, according to the proxy advisor’s recently released FAQs document on compensation policies. According to ISS, CEOs should not receive severance if they stepped down willingly. As a result, ISS said, it wants more detail on whether…
When a CEO exits unexpectedly, the vacancy leaves room for someone to step up and prove his or her worth to the company. Their worth, as it turns out, is about $1.6 million, on average, for an “interim CEO-ship” among those in the Russell 3000, according to public company intelligence provider MyLogIQ. There have been 140…
Increasing demands on directors’ time are prompting boards and committee chairs to regularly hold ad hoc “meetings between the meetings,” as directors call them, ranging from quick, 30-minute discussions to lengthier deep dives, as boards grapple with packed agendas that leave little room for broader emerging issues. Research suggests that increasing time demands — whether…
Insurance underwriter Argo Group has been asked by the SEC to hand over documents related to perks awarded to its executives. The SEC inquiry into Argo’s disclosures on executive perks, which was first reported by Bloomberg, comes after a proxy fight with Voce Capital earlier this year, and could indicate that activist investors have the ear of the SEC. “The takeaway…
Top legal officers are becoming increasingly valuable to corporations, at least according to the rising number of digits in some of their compensation packages. Pay for the general counsel (GC) and chief legal officer role reached a five-year high, according to data released last month from compensation consultancy Equilar and executive search firm BarkerGilmore. This latest research “brings…
Investors in 2019 have increasingly turned their attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics, and are demanding more information on how companies are thinking about the potential long-term risk and opportunities related to specific environmental and social factors. As companies prepare for the 2020 proxy season and engage with shareholders, directors should understand the…
Directors with decades of experience as well as those in their 70s are retiring or opting not to stand for reelection. Meanwhile, new board appointments show that searches are prioritizing gender diversity, technology and cyber security. According to public company intelligence provider MyLogIQ, in the past six weeks, the boards of AutoZone, Campbell Soup Company, Cigna Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, NRG Energy and Walgreens Boots…