50 Articles
Top news for boards today
- SolarCity, Tesla Ties Spurring Questions on Board’s IndependenceThere’s only one member of SolarCity’s board without ties to Tesla Motors.1
- SoftBank’s Nikesh Arora Leaving Sprint’s Board ImmediatelyThe former Google executive notified Sprint on June 22 that he will resign as a director, effective immediately.2
- These CEOs Could Earn Millions From Stock Awards Valued at ZeroAs scrutiny of executive compensation intensifies, some companies are using a little-known technique that keeps potential payouts under the radar.3
- SoftBank Board Finds No Merit to Investor Criticism of Company PresidentAn investor group had called on directors to investigate and possibly dismiss President Nikesh Arora in a sharply critical, 11-page letter that questioned his track record and qualifications.4
- Facebook Investors Back Return of Board, New Non-Voting SharesShareholders re-elected all eight members of the social network’s board, including Peter Thiel, the investor backing a controversial lawsuit against Gawker.5
- Chart: Activists Poised to Win More Seats at the Table This YearNew York hedge fund Starboard Value has captured the most director slots so far in 2016.6
- Viacom’s Redstone Moves to Take Dauman, Others Off BoardThe moves come as the nonagenarian billionaire reasserts control of the media company and moves closer to eliminating Philippe Dauman as CEO.7
- China’s HNA Clashes With Oceanwood Over NH Hotel Board MembersA hedge fund that owns about 11 percent of NH Hotel has proposed removing the company’s directors because it says HNA’s majority stake in a competitor poses a conflict of interest.8
- Sumner Redstone Says He No Longer Trusts Viacom CEO or BoardThe comments from Redstone, the company’s controlling shareholder, came in a written rebuke to lead independent director Fred Salerno.9
- Nabors Directors Stay on Board After Being Voted Off Four TimesInvestors have a few concerns about how the world’s largest land drilling contractor is run, but they don’t seem to be able to do much about it.10
- Little Headway Made as Women Take 27% of Open Board SeatsThe lip service paid to diversity by many large U.S. companies has done little for actual progress toward putting women on their boards, a new study shows.11
- Women Leaders Progressing Slowly in Financial Firms, Study ShowsFemales globally occupied 20% of board-level positions in financial firms at the beginning of 2016, up from 18% in 2013, according to management consultancy Oliver Wyman.12
- Satellite Startup Shortens Name to Planet as It Expands BoardThe company, which takes high-resolution pictures of Earth from its dozens of small satellites, is adding Autodesk CEO Carl Bass as a director.13
- Sanofi to Approach Medivation Shareholders to Replace BoardThe French drugmaker has filed the necessary documents for the consent solicitation process with U.S. regulators, it said in a statement.14
- Neuberger Berman Ups Ultratech Fight for Two Board SeatsAn investment manager waging a rare activist proxy fight at Ultratech Inc., escalated its attack, criticizing the performance of the maker of lights and lasers for the technology sector.15
- Chart: German Diversity Push Fails to Spur Management ChangeCompanies in the country’s benchmark DAX Index have boosted female supervisory board roles by more than 3%, but the percentage of women on management boards shrank to 9.4% in June from 9.6% in January.16
- Swift’s Board Earmarks Cash for Security After Bank HacksThe cooperative has been handling the fallout from a cyber attack in February when thieves used its messaging system to steal $81 million from Bangladesh’s central bank.17
- Burger King’s Shareholders Reject Pledge to Add Women to BoardShareholders of Restaurant Brands International Inc., owner of Burger King and Tim Hortons, rejected a proposal that would require a clear plan to add women to the company’s all-male board.18
- Congress Denies Mailmen a QuorumThe USPS has eight open seats on its board, thanks to Senate politics.19
- United CEO Says Board Was Too Isolated to See Airline’s SlideWe are ‘not as engaged with the front line,’ said Chief Executive Oscar Munoz, who shouldered some of the responsibility himself.20
- As Bro-Happy Burger King Moves Up North, All-Male Board Clashes With CanadaFred Pinto, head of OceanRock Investments Inc., wants fellow shareholders at this year’s annual meeting to vote in favor of his proposal to adopt a clear plan for more female directors.21
- Deutsche Bank Board Member Leaves After Less Than One YearQuintin Price, head of asset management and a member of the board, is leaving after less than a year at Germany’s biggest bank.22
- These Are the Best CEOs in America, According to the People Who Work for ThemA mix of companies lays claim to the best bosses, a new report shows.23
- Sanofi to Spend $4.2 Million on Effort to Oust Medivation DirectorsFrance’s largest drugmaker has offered $75,000 to each of the eight candidates it’s nominating to Medivation’s board.24
- Gannett to Forge Ahead With Hostile Takeover Bid for TribuneA large number of shareholders refused to back Tribune’s board nominees last week, indicating possible support for a merger.25
- Who’s the Best at Finding Women for Company Boards? WomenWomen in positions of power have a lot less trouble than men at finding other female executives for key roles, according to an analysis of 1,000 U.S. corporate boardrooms.26
- Oracle, Ellison Accused of Misleading Investors on Cloud RevenueA shareholder who blames his stock losses on allegations by a former finance executive that the technology giant doctored its quarterly results is suing company.27
- Tribune Directors Fail to Gain Majority Vote, Gannett SaysThe newspaper publisher fighting an $864 million hostile takeover bid got a strong message from investors as a large number of independent shareholders refused to back management’s board nominees.28
- Infoblox Said to Hire Morgan Stanley for Activist DefenseThe hiring of Morgan Stanley may delay a company sale as advisers meet with management to chart a path forward.29
- Facebook COO Says Peter Thiel to Remain on BoardChief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said Thiel is bankrolling lawsuits against Gawker Media based on his own personal convictions, and his support doesn’t affect his role as a director at the social media company.30
- Barclays Director Accused of Trading Tips for New BathroomFormer bank director Steven McClatchey allegedly told a plumber friend about future mergers.31
- Valeant Ex-CEO May Get $763,000 for Consulting Through 2017Former chief executive officer Michael Pearson’s severance contract includes $83,333 a month for the rest of 2016.32
- Sumner Redstone Makes Statement Regarding Viacom’s Board, CEOThe 93-year-old media billionaire last week removed trustees from their positions in a family trust that will eventually oversee his empire.33
- Organic Food Supplier SunOpta Jumps as Activist Urges ChangeTourbillon Capital Partners, which owns a 9.9% stake in the Canadian food company, sent a letter to the board of directors urging them to “immediately engage an independent investment bank to advise on a value maximization process.”34
- The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Guide to Trading on Inside InformationWhy Phil Mickelson didn’t get busted.35
- McDonald’s Protesters Target Annual Meeting in $15 FightDemonstrators chanting “show me 15” descended on the fast-food giant’s headquarters to demand higher pay, the latest showdown in a four-year battle emboldened by minimum-wage victories in California and New York.36
- Don’t Ask Us to Turn In Our Own Executives, Business Lobby WarnsThe Justice Department’s effort to hold individual managers accountable for corporate wrongdoing could backfire, says the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.37
- Carlyle CEO to Join Harvard Board of TrusteesDavid Rubenstein, co-chief executive officer of alternative-asset manager Carlyle Group LP, will join the university’s board of trustees in July 2017.38
- Steelmaker Usiminas Changes CEO Amid Financial WoesThe slumping Brazilian company elected Sergio Leite as its new chief executive officer as it struggles to reduce debt in a domestic recession.39
- Exxon Investors Approve Changes to Make Board Access EasierSupporters of the resolution said easier board access would make it possible for environmental groups to have more of a say in how the company operates.40
- Sanofi Seeks to Change Medivation DirectorsThe French drugmaker plans to ask Medivation shareholders to oust the board that spurned its $9.3 billion takeover offer.41
- Chico’s Revamps Board as Activist Investor Starts Proxy FightThe apparel chain will nominate retail veteran Bonnie Brooks and former Wal-Mart executive Bill Simon to the board as new independent directors.42
- Goldman Sachs Pay Plan Draws Record Shareholder OppositionThis year’s plan passed with 66 percent of investors voting in favor, based on a preliminary count, the company said Friday at its annual meeting. A proposal that would have split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer was rejected, with 30 percent voting in favor.43
- A Millionaire Is Telling BlackRock to Say No to Big CEO PayStephen Silberstein is fed up with elite complacency, corporate fat cats and self-dealing. And he’s threatening to make himself heard at the ballot box.44
- CBOE Chairman Who Took Exchange Public to ResignWilliam Brodsky, 72, will step down as chairman of the biggest U.S. options exchange next year, ending a two-decade run.45
- Former CEO Serge Schoen Exits Board of Agri Trader Louis DreyfusBoard changes come after profits sank to their lowest point in a decade.46
- Viacom Board Said to Stop Paying Salary to Sumner RedstoneThe action follows a competency trial that revealed Redstone’s frail condition. Directors had previously halted stock awards, bonus payments.47
- TradingScreen’s Board Puts CEO on Leave Over Conduct QuestionsPhilippe Buhannic, the chief executive officer of the financial-software firm, has been suspended by the company’s directors over questions about his conduct, touching off a battle for control of the company.48
- 1MDB Board’s Departure to Pave Way for Financing, Minister SaysThe departure of 1Malaysia Development Bhd.’s board of directors later this month and the appointment of officials from the Ministry of Finance in their place will alleviate loan problems faced by the state-owned investment company.49
- Perella Weinberg Adds Susan Schwab as Adviser, Joining Bob SteelThe investment bank founded by Joe Perella and Peter Weinberg added a former U.S. trade representative to its advisory board to help with strategic advice.50