The venom directed at proxy advisory firm ISS—and to a lesser extent, its competitor Glass Lewis & Co.—has become so vicious that it now poisons discourse about governance.
Perhaps this first proxy season with widespread say-on-pay shareholder votes caused the commotion. Perhaps the anger is a reaction to the shift in power to shareowners and their agents. Whatever the reason, casting ISS as the villain and then heaping upon it all responsibility for the tension amongst shareowners, managements, and boards makes it harder for the respective parties to examine their own practices and then engage in respectful dialogue. We intend to ...