Stephen Davis and Jon Lukomnik

We’ve lost track. We don’t know how many executive compensation reform plans we’ve witnessed over the decades. Each time, proponents claim that this particular reform is the magic bullet. Each time, unintended consequences follow. Each time, someone says, “This time is different.” In 2006, they may finally be right. No, we’re not predicting an end […]

As the truism goes, where you stand on an issue often depends on where you sit. Unfortunately, your shareowners sit all over the place. Literally. And that has a major effect on how they view your company’s governance. Consider institutional investors based here in the U.S. (we’ll skip for now the cultural and regulatory differences […]

OFreshfields.” Sounds gentle. Except that you will soon recognize it as code for tough-minded investor scrutiny of your company’s management of environmental, social and governance risks. You’ll even begin to hear that particular troika referred to by a new shorthand: ESG. What’s going on? Under most firms’ radar screens, a partnership of fund management firms […]

The national headlines and global business reports were anything but quiet last month. Hurricane Katrina. Oil prices at $70 a barrel. Refineries off-line. Gas prices above $3 a gallon. Hurricane Rita. It was a month of uncertainty, sorrow, angst and grief. And while the eyes of the nation focused intently on developments in Louisiana, Texas, […]

What happens when gadflies become mainstream? Over the past 20 years, corporate governance has evolved from a noisy, often dismissible, gadfly movement into a mainstream corporate activity. Market players now recognize it as an enabler of value creation, and regulators see it as a pillar of business integrity. As investors, we’re all in favor of […]