eBriefing

Proxy Advisors' Directors Wish List

By Eve Tahmincioglu

If proxy advisors – the firms that provide public company research and guidance to large investors – were writing a personal ad for the perfect board director it would probably go a bit like this:

Looking for diverse director with integrity who enjoys face-to-face communication with investors.

At least that’s the finding of a new The Conference Board’s Governance Center report,  Just What is the Corporate Director’s Job?, to be released later this week.  Directors & Boards received an advance copy.

The report was gleaned from a The Conference Board roundtable earlier this year of more than 50 proxy advisors, including two of the largest, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, & Co. 

Dismantling Silicon Boys Network

By Betsy Atkins

As a woman who’s served on many major tech company boards, much of Uber’s woes sound like old news. Women in technology industries still push against a silicon ceiling when it comes to career advancement and cultural issues.

Research from the Society of Women Engineers found that 20% of today’s engineering school graduates are women, yet just 11% continue working in the field. Women in IT leadership roles (such as chief information officers or technology VPs) are just 9% of the total, according to a survey from Harvey Nash/KPMG.

Among Silicon Valley’s boardrooms, the numbers are also bleak. At the 150 largest tech firms, only 15% of board members are women (versus 21% in the S&P 500). A Korn Ferry study of the top 100 U.S. tech firms saw just three with women as CEO/chairman, and five with a woman as the board’s lead director.

Short-Termism: Good Until It Goes Bad

Transitions Canada

The conference created for business families by business families.
 
Join us in Toronto this fall for Family Business Magazine’s Transitions Canada.
 
After overwhelming success in both the US and Mexico, Transitions will hold its first Canadian event Sept. 13-15, 2017 at The Radisson Admiral Toronto Harbourfront.

Whole Foods-Amazon Deal Came on Heels of Board Refresh

About one month after Whole Foods Market announced a major board reboot, adding five new directors, comes news Amazon is buying the high-end supermarket chain.

Whole Foods had a long-term plan in its proxy filing from last year to refresh the board after a few years, but apparently accelerated the process following activist hedge fund Jana Partners buying a big stake in the company and putting pressure on management to make changes.