This is not just another review of the recent proxy season for lessons learned. Instead, it’s a wake-up call for Corporate America that a new brand of activist investor has arrived on the scene that may well call for a change in how boards communicate with their major investors.
The “shareholder democracy” movement has been defined over the past two decades by public pension, social responsibility, and some mutual funds. Now certain hedge funds and professional investors like Carl Icahn are using the proxy to pursue a change in the company’s strategic direction that they believe will deliver greater share ...