Corporate Board articles from May 2000

Corporate Board archives from May 2000

Becoming An M&A Capable Board.
May 1, 2000... M&A activity is at an all-time high--as well as the level of rationalization needed to justify some of the deals being brokered. Many deals do not benefit the acquirer's shareholders, but simply knowing this is hardly enough for boards. Rather,...

Antitrust Enforcement And Corporate Activities.
May 1, 2000... The Microsoft civil antitrust case has raised awareness of issues pertaining to monopoly power. More importantly, businesses must be wary of the government crackdown on criminal antitrust activities which rob consumers of the benefits of...

Calling In A Coach For Your CEO.
May 1, 2000... Today's board can no longer afford to simply do the best job it can in approving CEO succession and then "hope for the best." Personal and managerial misfits can lead to a value-destroying leadership crisis, and such failings may be hard to...

Nonqualified Benefits Grow In Importance.(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2000... With a tight market for executive talent, every element of an employment contract must help attract and retain executives, while at the same time building shareholder value. Smart use of nonqualified retirement plans helps companies...

Is There A Delaware Premium?
May 1, 2000... For most of this century, Delaware has been the corporate home of choice for major U.S. companies. Critics say this is due to the state winning a legal "race to the bottom" with broad powers for management and lax legal burdens under...

One-half of large companies now grant stock options to their directors.
May 1, 2000... Almost one-half of the companies listed on the S&P 500 Index grant annual option awards to directors, an increase of approximately 50 percent from 1995 levels. According to a study by Russell Reynolds Associates, 49 percent of S&P 500 companies...

More companies are using the Internet for disclosure.
May 1, 2000... More and more companies are using the Internet to spread the word about themselves, according to a report from the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Today, all kinds of information can be found on corporate web sites--not only stock quotes...

Most investment professionals see corporate disclosure improving.
May 1, 2000... In a global survey by the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR), 69 percent of investment professionals say the overall quality of financial or corporate information disclosed by most publicly traded companies has improved...

D&O claim costs are up, but premiums are down.
May 1, 2000... The average size of a shareholder directors and officers (D&O) liability claim award rose to $8.67 million, the highest ever. Overall, though, prices still declined for D&O liability insurance for the fourth consecutive year, according to the...

M&A may lead to fewer layoffs.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... With the announcement of any corporate merger or acquisition comes the fear among employees about job loss. Yet layoffs may not necessarily happen in the current tight employment environment. According to Michael D. Zinn, of executive...

TIAA-CREF shakes up its policies on governance.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... TIAA-CREF, the world's largest pension system, in March released a revised edition of its widely distributed Policy Statement on Corporate Governance, which includes increased focus on executive pay and anti-takeover measures. The...

Executives will face increasingly sophisticated stockholders at this year's annual meetings.
May 1, 2000... With most of the millennial worries behind them, CEOs need to get in mental shape for the annual meeting season, because stockholders are waiting with a fresh arsenal of tough questions. According to Deloitte & Touche's Questions at...

Technology advances reduce the case for antitrust action.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Is Microsoft's market dominance in computer operating systems evidence of a monopoly that should be thwarted by the antitrust enforcement powers of the federal government? Or is it the result of technological advances and "network economics"...

Ten years ago.
May 1, 2000... Is the business cycle dead? The United States economy has now completed seven straight years of expansion, the longest in its peacetime history. It is time to consider whether the capitalist system has experienced a fundamental change in its...

Five years ago.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... A chairman or CEO determined to add value with the board can avoid most dysfunctional decision-making by working with the board to build habits that nurture collective strength. Like a professional athlete, the board must practice its skills....

The Audit Committee Handbook: Third Edition.(Review)
May 1, 2000... The Audit Committee Handbook: Third Edition. By Louis Braiotta, Jr. John Wiley & Sons. $60. A new 21st Century update of the authoritative book on how a board audit committee should operate for top effectiveness.

Correction.(correction to Mar/Apr 2000 issue)(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2000... March/April 2000 issue correction. In the March/April 2000 issue, on page 7, column 1, after the second full paragraph the text should have read: "In general, directors are precluded from audit committee membership if they are: *...

Spoken & Written.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Articles & Speeches Capital will continue to flow from Wall Street toward Main Street as companies across the country take advantage of their freedom to engage in a broad rang of financial services and capital raising activities. At...

Directors' Register.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Recent Board Elections Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has elected to its board Robert Ripp, chairman of Lightpath Technologies, Inc. and former chairman and chief executive officer of AMP Incorporated. Association of Executive Search...

Conversations.(Brief Article)(Interview)
May 1, 2000... Andrew Shapiro: Making Governance A Proxy Issue Last fall, Andrew Shapiro, head of the California-based Lawndale Capital Management firm, launched a proxy battle at underperforming medical software firm Quality Systems International (QSI)....

The Innovation Premium.(Review)
May 1, 2000... The Innovation Premium. By Ronald S. Jonash and Tom Sommerlatte. $26. Perseus Books. With case studies of such firms as Daimler-Chrysler, Dell, and Nokia, the authors, two Arthur D. Little consultants, seek to quantify how innovation in itself...

Harvard Business Review on Corporate Governance.(Review)
May 1, 2000... Harvard Business Review on Corporate Governance. $19.95. Harvard Business School Press. This collection of HBR articles on governance includes noted pieces by such authorities as Jay Lorsch, John Pound and Walter Salmon. It offers an intriguing...