Corporate Board articles from May 2007

Corporate Board archives from May 2007

Shareholder activism and the "eclipse of the public corporation".
May 1, 2007... Governance and boardroom reform ideas have been much in the news lately. More boards feel the pressure to adopt such changes as stronger director independence standards, greater input from activist shareholders, and open access to proxy...

Building a new board: lessons from spin-offs.
May 1, 2007... While mergers and acquisitions remain popular, spin-offs and divestitures are also on the increase as more companies tighten their strategic focus. However, a well-executed spin-off can bring governance as well as strategic benefits. A spin-off...

Board document retention: five best practices.
May 1, 2007... The company receives a subpoena for documents in a legal or regulatory action involving a board decision. Does this require just copying a few files? Not today. It now can mean a thorough inventory of all electronic records kept not just by the...

The eight "Cs" of board performance assessment.
May 1, 2007... Board assessment as a governance tool has grown increasingly popular. Yet that does not mean that most boards are getting it right. Too often, simple surface "checklist" items are graded rather than the more subtle factors that determine real...

Shareholder solution for runaway executive pay.
May 1, 2007... Public and media anger over CEO pay that seems excessive and unrelated to results has reached a new high. However, attempts to legislate a solution (such as more disclosure and the IRS "million dollar pay cap") have failed. Perhaps the solution...

Audit committees are taking on a broader oversight role.(Audit)
May 1, 2007... As audit committees adapt to the heightened scrutiny and glare of the spotlight created by Sarbanes Oxley, they are also experiencing an evolution of their role to include broader oversight in matters of financial responsibility and risk...

Top CEOs increasingly decline outside board seats.(Compensation & Recruitment)
May 1, 2007... Since 1990, as many as 418 seats at America's corporate board tables have been abandoned by business leaders, according to a study of active Fortune 500 CEOs over the past 16 years. The study was conducted by JamesDruryPartners, a leading...

CFO turnover is expected to increase further in 2007.(Compensation & Recruitment)
May 1, 2007... Shareholders and board members should prepare for record turnover among chief financial officers (CFOs) in 2007, according to a survey from executive services firm Tatum, LLC. Data from the survey suggests that compliance headaches such as...

Sarbanes-Oxley expenditures are predicted to remain steady for 2007.(Disclosure)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... AMR Research has released a report stating that companies will spend $6 billion in 2007 on Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance. The report, which looks at spending associated with governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC), found that GRC...

Corporate in-house legal budgets are soaring.(Liability & Litigation)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... In the past two years, budgets for inhouse legal departments have increased by more than 20 percent, excluding the costs of litigation. The budget increases were seen among departments of all sizes, with smaller departments (six attorneys or...

TIAA-CREF revises its statement on corporate governance.(Shareholders & Investors)
May 1, 2007... Leading retirement fund TIAA-CREF in March released a revised edition of its Policy Statement on Corporate Governance. Now in its fifth edition, the Policy Statement is intended to inform TIAA-CREF clients, portfolio companies and the public...

The role of boards in ERM is explored.(Strategy & Finance)
May 1, 2007... As the oversight role of the corporate board in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) expands, companies feel the need to fill a knowledge gap on effective risk governance practices, according to a study by The Conference Board. The report provides...

Ten years ago in the corporate board.(Retrospectives)
May 1, 2007... No question, the involvement demanded [by board service] is much greater today than 25 years ago. The amount of information that boards ask for and get is a magnitude larger, and the active involvement of directors is now a stated goal of the...

Five years ago in the corporate board.(Retrospectives)(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... There is a lot at stake in reforming our financial system and in returning to the fine roots of our national character. However, it will be almost impossible to accomplish if the owners of our corporations fail to recognize that corporate...

Books received.(Brief article)
May 1, 2007... Innovative Or Perish By Edward Kahn. John Wiley & Sons. $34.95. As intellectual property becomes a greater part of the world economy (and a greater corporate asset), business techniques for managing, governing and protecting it grow more...

Spoken & written: articles & speeches.
May 1, 2007... It's amazing how much more time boards are spending looking at proxy statements and compensation write-ups and dotting i's and crossing t's. How does this help us compete in the global marketplace? For CEOs, if you make over $1 million, that's...

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has elected to its board Teresa Beck, former president of American Stores Company.

Bausch & Lomb Incorporated.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Bausch & Lomb Incorporated has elected to its board Catherine M. Burzik, president and chief executive officer of Kinetic Concepts, Inc.

The Boeing Company.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... The Boeing Company has elected to its board Arthur D. Collins, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic, Inc.

Brown Shoe Company, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Brown Shoe Company, Inc. has elected to its board Ward Klein, chief executive officer of Energizer Holdings, Inc.

DaVita Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... DaVita Inc. has elected to its board Willard W. Brittain, chairman and chief executive officer of Preod Corp.

Enpro Industries, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... EnPro Industries, Inc. has elected to its board David L. Hauser, group executive and chief financial officer for Duke Energy Corporation.

Fair Isaac Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Fair Isaac Corporation has elected to its board James Kirsner, former chief financial officer of Barra, Inc.

FPL Group, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... FPL Group, Inc. has elected to its board Toni Jennings, former lieutenant governor of Florida.

Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. has elected to its board General Charles C. Krulak, retired U.S. Marine and former executive vice chairman of MBNA Corporation, Jon C. Madonna, former chairman and chief executive officer of KPMG L.L.P., and...

Gannett Co., Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Gannett Co., Inc. has elected to its board Charles B. Fruit, senior advisor in marketing, strategy and innovation for The Coca-Cola Company.

Gateway, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Gateway, Inc. has elected to its board Dave Russell, executive vice president and managing director of Avalon Energy, LLC.

The Home Depot, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... The Home Depot, Inc. has elected to its boardDavid H. Batchelder, principal of Relational Investors, LLC.

Ingram Micro Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Ingram Micro Inc. has elected to its board Leslie Stone Heisz, managing director of the Los Angeles office of Lazard Freres & Co.

Iron Mountain Incorporated.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Iron Mountain Incorporated has elected to its board Laurie Tucker, senior vice president of marketing at FedEx Corporate Services Inc.

LoJack Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... LoJack Corporation has elected to its board Rory J. Cowan, chairman and chief executive officer of Lionbridge Technologies, Inc.

Markel Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Markel Corporation has elected to its board Lemuel E. Lewis, former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Landmark Communications, Inc.

Microsoft corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Microsoft Corporation has elected to its board Reed Hastings, chairman and chief executive officer of Netflix, Inc.

The Mutual of Omaha Companies.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... The Mutual of Omaha Companies has elected to its board W. Gary Gates, president and chief executive officer Omaha Public Power District.

Northrop Grumman Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Northrop Grumman Corporation has elected to its board Donald E. Felsinger, chairman and chief executive officer of Sempra Energy.

Perrigo Company.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Perrigo Company has elected to its board Ben-Zion Zilberfarb, professor of economics at Bar-Ilan University and former director general of Israel's Ministry of Finance.

PSS World Medical, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... PSS World Medical, Inc. has elected to its board Jeffrey C. Crowe, chairman of Landstar System, Inc.

Rent-A-Center, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Rent-A-Center, Inc. has elected to its board Jeffery M. Jackson, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sabre Holdings Corporation.

School Specialty, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... School Specialty, Inc. has elected to its board Herbert A. Trucksess III, chairman and former chief executive officer of Saia, Inc.

Sequa Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Sequa Corporation has elected to its board Stanley R. Zax, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Zenith National Insurance Corp., and Gail Binderman, director of corporate strategy and development and investment officer of Ampacet...

Sierra Pacific Resources.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Sierra Pacific Resources has elected to its board Brian J. Kennedy, former president and chief executive officer of Meridian Gold Inc.

SPX Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... SPX Corporation has elected to its board J. Michael Fitzpatrick, former president and chief operating officer of Rohm and Haas Company, and Albert A. Koch, vice chairman and managing director of AlixPartners.

Tennant Company.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Tennant Company has elected to its board William F. Austen, vice president of operations of Bemis Company, Inc.

URS Corporation.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... URS Corporation has elected to its board Douglas W. Stotlar, president and chief executive officer of Con-way, Inc.

Viacom Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Viacom Inc. has elected to its board Blythe J. McGarvie, president and founder of Leadership for International Finance, LLC.

Xilinx, Inc.(Directors' Register: Recent Board Elections)
May 1, 2007... Xilinx, Inc. has elected to its board Marshall C. Turner, former chief executive officer of Dupont Photomasks, Inc.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld: new rules of CEO and board leadership.(Conversations)
May 1, 2007... In the worlds of academia and business consulting, "leadership" experts are more than common. When it comes to corporate governance, the body of expertise has grown vastly over the past decade. One of the few authorities who can claim...