Newsletter

Mandates for More Women on Boards: Why is the gender-diversity value proposition still unclear?

By Catherine Banat

At the end of August, the California legislature passed a bill that mandates gender diversity on boards of directors of publicly-traded companies headquartered in California.  If the bill passes, California will be the first state in the country with such a requirement.

Many people are asking: Is such legislation going to help; can changes in corporate behavior be mandated by legislation?

Perhaps the question we should ask is not does legislation work, however, but why, in 2018 do we need legislation on this issue? 

Is Ditching Quarterly Reports the Short-termism Answer?

By Pat Tucker

Any follower of President Trump’s Twitter feed knows there are a number of issues that capture his attention these days. However, even the most ardent follower may have been a bit surprised to see him recently weigh in on U.S. public company financial reporting regulations.

In a tweet on Aug. 17, President Trump ordered the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine the quarterly reporting requirements for U.S. public companies.

The President’s tweet joins a diverse number of influential voices that have recently called for changes to move the financial markets away from “short-termism,” which experts believe is hurting the economy. However, boards looking to heed these clarion calls will find practical advice that can be put to use quickly tough to find. In this shifting world the answer may lie in taking a close look at long held best practices to question how new thinking could help lead the market to a longer-term focus.

Governing Executive Pay: Pay strategy in an era of business transformation

Executive pay has long been a subject of scrutiny and headlines, with directors under ever-increasing pressure to govern executive pay decisions soundly. With business transformation now a near-constant factor, it’s critical to lead this work in an effective and thoughtful way. Until now, our profession has not historically subscribed to a set of guiding principles like those found in law and medicine, for example, to steer our work.

Join Willis Towers Watson leader Don Delves and  Directors & Boards Magazine Publishing Director, David Shaw, for a FREE webinar at 2 p.m. Sept. 20. During the webcast, participants will be given a comprehensive set of overarching standards designed to support the governance and design of executive compensation. These principles, based on the input of hundreds of corporate board members, offer a blueprint for assessing and designing executive pay programs and making decisions according to a carefully defined set of attributes.