Directors & Boards articles from September 1997

Directors & Boards archives from September 1997

Nascent reform. (corporate governance in Japan)
September 22, 1997... In the United States, good corporate governance centers on the board's accountability to serve the best interests of shareholders. In contrast, stockholders in many foreign countries often are left out in the cold. For example, in Japan, public...

Corporate America speaks.
September 22, 1997... In contrast to the "boxtickers," the Business Roundtable has not missed the real point about what makes a good director. A director recently complained that Corporate America has not organized itself efficiently to challenge the checklist...

Turning a board inside out. (board of directors)
September 22, 1997... Shareowners need to see through the subterfuge of so-called independent boards that are really controlled by insiders. Who is an insider on a board of directors? Certainly an insider is considered someone working full-time in management, such...

Proceed cautiously with this innovation. (corporate governance committee)
September 22, 1997... The corporate governance committee of the board is basically an experiment that has yet to demonstrate its value. Many studies of corporate governance, perhaps most, conclude that boards of directors usually respond late to crises and other...

Executives must be allowed to execute.
September 22, 1997... The great problem of corporate governance today is not how to create checks and balances against power but rather to summon up and channel power. Like a proud frigate, the American business corporation is sailing confidently into the 21st...

Courts and boards: the top 10 cases.
September 22, 1997... Each creating judicial precedent, here are the most significant court decisions that influenced the way directors should think and boards should work. The number of judicial decisions having an impact upon corporate law and, more particularly,...

A 10-year quest for director accountability.
September 22, 1997... How the first three stages (1987-1997) of institutional activism evolved, and what's needed next for directors to regain investor confidence. Ten years ago, in the spring of 1987, corporations faced a new kind of investor activism for the...

A governance tool that really works.
September 22, 1997... Our financial accounting and disclosure system has been a most effective mechanism for inducing managers to manage better. In the debate over corporate governance, and how to make corporate boards and managements more effective and responsive...

Executive pay - then, now and ahead.
September 22, 1997... From whence we've come to where we're going: four trends that will shape the board's compensation decisionmaking. In August of 1930, Literary Digest published the 1929 annual compensation of Eugene G. Grace, president of Bethlehem Steel: salary...

A new basis for director liability.
September 22, 1997... It is important to understand the O'Hagan rule in order to avoid inadvertent violations of the misappropriation theory. During the summer of 1997, the Supreme Court of the United States decided a case which expands the scope of potential...

Forays on the governance frontier.
September 22, 1997... Historians tend to look on the Eisenhower years as placid and passive, but we at the SEC were doing a lot, planting seeds for the future. Asked to express a few recollections of the decade of the 1950s that might be of interest to readers of...

Succeeding at succeeding yourself: a synthesis of best CEO succession practices in 12 leading U.S. corporations.
September 22, 1997... A synthesis of best CEO succession practices in 12 leading U.S. corporations. Many of us are so caught up in the day-to-day events in our lives that we don't make time for those things that are necessary to ensure the future. Successful...

Directors roster. (newly appointed corporate directors)
September 22, 1997... In affiliation with Spencer Stuart -a quarterly record of new director appointments In this edition of the Directors Roster, we feature 212 companies that have added 284 new directors to their boards. Typically, we find that most of these new...

Mary K. Bush. (corporate director at Texaco's board of directors)
September 22, 1997... A premium player in the international finance arena devoting her energy to Texaco's board. Mary K. Bush, president of Bush & Co., an international consulting firm, becomes the second African-American elected to Texaco's board. Her appointment...

Lawrence Ellison. (new corporate director at Apple Computer's board of directors)
September 22, 1997... With the Oracle chief on board, it may be smoother sailing for Apple Computer. By the time this article comes out, I should be the chairman of Apple." Lawrence Ellison, chairman and CEO of Oracle Corp., delivered this proclamation in the June...

A timeless model: J. Keith Louden.
September 22, 1997... He brought order and professionalism to the governance of the post-World War II American corporation. As we grope toward a new standard for governing the next millennium s global corporation, I find myself testing all the advice of current...