CHARLOTTE, N.C.—On January 25, Womble Bond Dickinson and CamberView Partners joined forces to discuss the latest developments in corporate governance and highlight key issues and best practices for corporate boards and their advisers as they head into the 2018 proxy season.
This most recent edition of Womble Bond Dickinson's Corporate Governance Summit and Proxy Season Outlook was held at Wake Forest Charlotte Center; a live webcast helped the transatlantic law firm reach a broad audience.
A panel of Womble Bond Dickinson partners Chris Gyves, Jane Jeffries Jones and Sid Shenoy, associate Janet Lowder, and CamberView partner Bob McCormick discussed:
- Shareholder proposals and proxy access;
- Key disclosure topics and trends;
- Tax reform considerations and its impact on executive compensation;
- Board composition, tenure, and diversity;
- Recent changes in proxy advisor policies; and
- Insights for boards of directors regarding engagement, activism, and M&A.
Jones said, "With the conference's coverage of current developments in the proxy, governance and compensation areas, we believe that our team provided attendees with useful insights as public companies face a new year of legal challenges."
Shenoy added that "Bob's comments, drawing on his experience at CamberView and prior roles at Glass Lewis and Fidelity, provided an invaluable perspective for everyone who joined us at Wake Forest Charlotte Center and on the webcast and nicely complemented our discussion of key legal, tax and accounting developments. It was a well-rounded discussion of hot-button governance and proxy issues."
"I enjoyed joining experts from Womble Bond Dickinson at their recent 2018 Corporate Governance Summit and Proxy Season Outlook to discuss how corporations can prepare for the 2018 annual meeting amid heightened shareholder expectations particularly around the role of the board," McCormick said.
"In 2018, corporate boards and management will face growing demands for transparency and responsiveness from shareholders and other constituencies, particularly around board composition, compensation, and environmental and social concerns. A key takeaway—underscored by Bob's remarks at the event—is that companies with identified risk in any of those areas should consider a proactive approach to addressing issues and a strategy for communicating progress," added Gyves.
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