eBriefing

Report: Ethnic and Cultural Diversity May Boosts Profits

By Eve Tahmincioglu

Minorities still make up less than 20% of the occupants in the nation’s boardrooms, and that may be bad news for companies with all-white boards when it comes to the bottom line.

A new study from McKinsey & Company found that companies with the most ethnic and cultural diversity in the boardroom were 43% more likely to experience higher profits.

“Ethnic and cultural diversity’s correlation with outperformance on profitability was statistically significant at Board level,” the report states.

BlackRock to Boards: Consider Societal Good, Not Just Profits

By April Hall

One of the top investing firms in the world is asking directors to take environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibility seriously or else.

In a letter to company CEOs, BlackRock CEO and chairman, Larry Fink, warned that he could choose to sell a corporations stock if they don’t make social good part of overall business strategy plans

“Your company’s strategy must articulate a path to achieve financial performance,” Fink wrote. “To sustain that performance, however, you must also understand the societal impact of your business as well as the ways that broad, structural trends – from slow wage growth to rising automation to climate change – affect your potential for growth.”

Environmental, Social & Governance

Top of Mind: What Directors Are Thinking

TANUJA DEHNE, DIRECTOR:
Advanced Disposal Services, Granite Point Mortgage Trust

“Corporate sustainability is becoming part of the boardroom dialogue. What keeps me up at night is the plodding pace — climate action requires a greater sense of urgency and prioritization if we are to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. I have been focusing on how corporate governance can be a catalyst for climate action in my roles as a public company director and as senior advisor for The B Team, a nongovernmental organization focused on mobilizing global leaders to drive a better way of doing business for the wellbeing of people and the planet."

EILEEN MCDONNELL, DIRECTOR:
Universal Health Services, The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company

“As a sitting CEO and a member of the board of a private company, a director of a public company, and of a nonprofit, I have the opportunity to view governance through various lenses.

Best practices are constantly challenged and new ones emerge for consideration. In theory, and sometimes under the veil of protecting shareholders/stakeholders, they filter their way into the mainstream dialog of boards and the regulators who govern them."
 

Family Business Generational Wealth

Feb. 7 - 9
Developing Wealth Strategies for the Family and the Business

Family Business Generational Wealth 2018, now in its second year, is the only wealth management conference for active family businesses and enterprises.

Family Business Generational Wealth, from Family Business magazine, is a different kind of wealth management conference, created by families for families, focused on real-world solutions to wealth management across generations, presented by family business executives and shareholders themselves.

This conference is ideal for:

• Family business CEOs/Chairs/CFOs
• Family trust directors and executives
• Family business shareholders
• Family council leaders and members
• Family office leaders

Buffett Takes a Step Toward Succession

By April Hall

Berkshire Hathaway Wednesday installed two new vice chairmen to its board, one of which is the heir apparent to the company’s CEO Warren Buffett.

While Warren Buffett doesn’t see retirement in his near future, the board additions – bringing the total number to 14 – he said in a cable news interview following the board announced were “a movement toward succession.”

“I am in remarkably good health,” Buffet assured in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “If there was anything about my health, I would tell the shareholders immediately.”