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The CEO of the Business Roundtable on the Statement of the Purpose of the CorporationIssue: 2021 First QuarterJosh Bolten talks about the impact of the statement’s update a year later.Directors & Boards’ Character of the Corporation forum closed with a keynote interview with Josh Bolten, CEO of the Business Roundtable.A little over one year ago, The Business Roundtable updated its “Statement on the Purp...
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Ed Garden on an “Ownership Mentality” for BoardsIssue: 2021 First QuarterAs an engaged shareholder, Garden aligns ESG with profits.As chief investment officer and a founding partner of Trian Fund Management, L.P., Ed Garden has influenced some of the largest corporations in the U.S. He currently serves on the boards of General Electric and Invesco and is a former directo...
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What Does Corporate Character Really Mean?Issue: 2021 First QuarterA company should demonstrate its values in good times and bad.Last year, ESG support might have lost the momentum it had gained over the last several years, but many board members say the opposite happened. Environmental, social and governance issues are now integral to corporate success regardless ...
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The Changing Nature of Board ServiceIssue: 2021 First QuarterShould sitting CEOs serve on outside boards, given the time commitment required for board service today?When the pandemic turned the business environment upside down, many boards met daily, sometimes even more than once a day. This time commitment raises the question of whether CEOs can afford to se...
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Diversity and Inclusion — On the Board, in Management, in the CompanyIssue: 2021 First QuarterGoing beyond gender diversity.Board diversity has now become a legislative — and exchange — issue. California and New York have adopted legislation outlining director diversity mandates. More recently, the Nasdaq stock exchange petitioned the SEC to adopt a new listing rule that mirrors the Californ...
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The Fuzzy Line Between the Board and ManagementIssue: 2021 First QuarterDon’t expect anything to clear up anytime soon.The COVID-19 pandemic created the need for many boards to meet weekly, if not daily, and engage with management in a more hands-on way.But there has always been a governance best practice to have “noses in, fingers out.” In other words, boards should ad...
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Compensation and Character: Human Capital and Executive PayIssue: 2021 First QuarterBalance must be found between retaining talent and pleasing shareholders.The approach to executive compensation is in flux for many companies entering 2021. Some organizations fared well or even better than they would have without the crises that included a global pandemic and a push for social and ...
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Roundtable Discussion: The Changing Relationship Between the Board and ManagementIssue: 2021 First QuarterCorporate leaders share their experiences guiding CEOs through crisis.The Character of the Corporation forum drew some of the most influential corporate directors and thought leaders in the country. The event presented the opportunity for attendees to share with their peers lessons learned around th...
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Letter From the Chairman: Corporate VirtueIssue: 2021 First QuarterIn December Directors & Boards held its second annual “Character of the Corporation” forum. Our first forum had examined how boards of directors can balance corporate profits with social purpose by embracing ESG initiatives and programs. This year’s forum explored how they can take on the larger...
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Editor's Note: Changed — For Better or Worse?Issue: 2021 First QuarterThe COVID pandemic has been an event that none of us has experienced before and, I hope, will never experience again. It has altered our lives in ways that none of us could have imagined. As we begin to see its end, the overriding question is: How will this ultimately change the way we live? For the...
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Moving to a Values-Based Approach to Corporate Codes of ConductIssue: 2021 First QuarterIs your code practical and powerful enough to address today’s issues?Many larger companies, and virtually all public companies, have adopted a code of conduct. These codes typically are designed and written by lawyers and can be tedious to wade through. As a result, their impact on the day-to-day be...
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Setting 2021’s Compensation Goals in the Wake of COVIDIssue: 2021 First QuarterBoards are used to working with uncertainty in setting incentive goals, but 2021 is forcing them to raise their game.Setting goals for incentive compensation has long been one of the compensation committee’s biggest responsibilities. This task is especially difficult with the continuing uncertainty ...
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ESG Issues Call for ESG DirectorsESG issues are growing in materiality and impact for all industries, with significant implications for board responsibilities. In the last weeks of January, for example, we saw a rapid set of announcements related to climate change and diversity and inequity, from both the federal government and the...
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Supporting Your CEO Through Challenging TimesThe position of CEO has always been stressful. However, today (and tomorrow and tomorrow and…) that stress comes inside an envelope of the ongoing stress of a seemingly endless pandemic and social unrest. Directors and boards would do well to pay attention and check in with their top executives.A wi...
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Politics and the BoardroomIssue: 2021 First QuarterSoon after the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the finger pointing began.Was it the divisiveness of the political landscape, the struggle between “us” and “them”? Were moderates who thought the anger of the far edges of each party would eventually calm down complicit?And did some of the country’s ...
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Technology and Digital Acceleration on the Board AgendaIssue: 2021 First QuarterPrior to the pandemic, most corporations were focused on technology and digital transformation. The pandemic has, however, added a heightened level of urgency to how boards and management view technology and digital capabilities. No longer is technology considered an enabling function or a source of...
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Questions Boards Can Ask to Better Govern InclusionIssue: 2021 First QuarterIn recent months, the conversation surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), specifically in corporate America, has significantly accelerated. However, real progress requires accountability. That is why companies and their leaders must move beyond verbal commitments to DEI and focus on tang...
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Larry Fink’s Message to CEOs: Commit to a Net Zero EconomyBlackRock CEO Larry Fink released his annual letter to CEOs Jan. 26 and set the investment firm’s 2021 agenda to hold companies accountable for reaching net zero emissions by mid-century.Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fink call 2020 “a stark reminder of our fragility.” He added that while many ...
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Corporations Turn Away from Political SpendingThe list of companies “pausing” their political contributions in light of the Capitol Building attack last week continues to grow.Currently the most drastic announcement has been from Charles Schwab Corporation. The brokerage said it is dismantling its political action committee (PAC) entirely.“In l...
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Corporate America Reacts to Capitol Building ViolenceAfter the attack on the U.S. Capitol building, some business organizations and business leaders were quick to react. The Business Roundtable, an association of about 200 chief executive officers of large American corporations, released a statement Thursday.“The chaos unfolding in the nation’s ...