Sky Blog
Critics have argued that the rule requiring companies to disclose the ratio of CEO compensation to employee pay is too expensive and time consuming, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimating the cost to U.S. companies at more than $700 …
Firms are coming under increasing pressure to close and disclose their gender pay gaps. The pressure stems from several sources, including, (i) socially conscious investors; (ii) interest groups advocating the incorporation of ESG factors into corporate decision-making and stakeholder capitalism …
Last year, we did a mid-year edition of our annual Thoughts for Boards of Directors to highlight key issues and considerations in managing the challenging business environment and profound upheaval caused by the pandemic. Many of these issues are still …
There is a quote that is commonly misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
At the regular get-togethers in the responsible investment industry, war stories are frequently …
In recent years, investors and others in the financial community have devoted increasing attention to the role of sustainability in financial markets and the economy at large. Sustainability is now seen as an alternative form of risk management, a way …
The complaint filed in Franchi v. Multiplan Corp. et al. in the Chancery Court of Delaware on April 9, 2021 [1], has received a fair amount of attention because it claims breaches of fiduciary duties of a SPAC’s Board of …
Proxy advisory firms have emerged as major players in corporate governance by helping to address the public goods aspects of information production in corporate governance. These firms provide both a) recommendations on how to cast proxy votes and b) research …
Overcoming the learning curve for a new situation or role at work can be difficult, especially when the situation or role requires specialized knowledge. Newly appointed audit committee chairs face a particularly steep learning curve, given that audit committees of …
The long-standing debate about corporate purpose has stirred multiple thought-provoking articles across various disciplines. Should companies embrace shareholder value maximization or deal with the fuzziness of the goals of multiple constituencies? Instead of contributing to either side of the shareholders …
A common dilemma for people who seek advice is that good advice sometimes comes at the cost of revealing negative information about the persons seeking it. In the world of corporate decision making, a CEO who seeks the counsel of …
Codetermination is a system of shared corporate governance between workers and shareholders. While such a system has long been a staple of the European business world, it has been generally ignored by U.S. corporate governance scholars. When it has made …
On April 21, 2021, the European Commission published an ambitious new package of “sustainable finance” regulation proposals. By far the most awaited element of this release concerned the Commission’s proposal for the review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (“NFRD…
American workers are more productive than ever, but they take home the same pay they did 40 years ago. While firms have enjoyed blockbuster profits—and the U.S. gross domestic product has tripled—most American households have not shared in this increasing …
The corporate purpose debate is experiencing a renaissance. The contours of the modern debate are relatively well developed and typically focus on whether corporations should pursue shareholder value maximization or broader social aims. A related subject that has received much …
Acquisitions are at the core of corporate strategy, enabling companies to expand and reposition themselves in the market. In 2019 alone, they accounted for nearly $3.7 trillion of economic activity. Yet acquirers famously struggle to realize value from these transactions. …
Jobs in which workers are physically distant from their employers are increasingly prevalent, due to both a surge in the gig economy and the widespread increase in remote work, which was on the rise even before the pandemic. This development …
Nearly a year ago, we analyzed the outperformance of ESG strategies during the initial stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As of May 2020, we found that ESG indexes based on ISS ESG data had outperformed by 1.3% to 2.8%, with …
Activist investors once limited their targets to mostly smaller, less known firms. Now, though, they increasingly target large, household names like Procter & Gamble, DuPont, and Berkshire Hathaway, aiming to influence company actions, replace management, or even purchase the company.…
Global efforts to limit the spread of Covid-19 have prompted the widespread adoption of restrictions on people’s ability to go out and about and, as result, have thrust public mental health issues into the spotlight. Mandatory work-from-home arrangements, for example, …
Just over 10 years ago, benefit corporations emerged as legal entities intended to permit for-profit social enterprises to pursue public-interest missions. While increasingly popular among states and businesses, these new entities have received unending criticism from commentators on all sides. …