This past year showed us that every company needs a strategic shareholder engagement plan in place. Whether navigating new regulations from Dodd-Frank, lawsuits around director pay, diversity in the boardroom, CEO succession and a host of other issues, no company is immune to increased scrutiny from investors.
But shareholder engagement shouldn’t be viewed as negative or as a threat. Yes, we’ve seen many activist investors come in with short-term goals to exploit certain issues. However, in most cases, shareholders are asking legitimate questions for the good of the company, and it often pays to listen.
This issue of C-Suite focuses on how companies are communicating with their shareholders on strategy for the coming year. Our one-on-one interviews include Cathy Allen of The Santa Fe Group and member of multiple corporate boards, who talks about the generation gap and what challenges boards face as retiring boomers pass the torch; Bob McCormick and Kevin Liu of Glass Lewis hit the high points of how to engage with proxy advisors; and Paula Loop of PwC discusses the firm’s annual Directors survey, which pulls back the curtain on what directors are really thinking about the state of their boardrooms.
Our recurring “Ask the Experts” feature hits on the major hot-button issues in the 2016 proxy season—and there are many of them. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Korn Ferry, Meridian Compensation Partners, Nasdaq and Shearman & Sterling each provide a unique perspective on what to expect in the coming months.
Other topics include a Q&A with Pearl Meyer on why TSR is not a “magic” metric, Park Avenue Advisors on transforming your board for a competitive advantage, RR Donnelley on proxy disclosure trends, and TK Kerstetter on the building blocks of governance success. And finally, Seymour Cash takes Shareholder Engagement head on and in typical fashion, offers up a unique way to turn a challenge into an opportunity.
Please enjoy this issue and feel free to reach out to me directly with any feedback.
David Chun
CEO and Founder, Equilar
dchun@equilar.com