Corporate Board articles from September 2007

Corporate Board archives from September 2007

The era of the inclusive leader.
September 1, 2007... Not long ago, it was the "imperial" CEO who called the shots in corporate America, unafraid to let boards, investors, the media and the public know who was in charge. Now, the mighty have fallen fast. Today's CEOs have learned that the key to...

Private equity and corporate governance.
September 1, 2007... Private equity firms have become the envy of corporate America for their skill at quickly shaking up troubled companies. What corporate governance secrets do their boards use to achieve these results? What can public company boards learn from...

Risk management: the board's role.
September 1, 2007... Corporate governance reform laws have given boards an unavoidable fiduciary duty to oversee how risks are managed. Yet many corporations (and many boards) still lack the control systems needed to effectively deal with all significant financial,...

Myths about director evaluation.
September 1, 2007... Despite greater pressure (and regulatory mandates), boards are still reluctant to evaluate themselves--much less their individual members. Evaluation will destroy board collegiality, will leave the board and company open to legal discovery of...

The new rules of board pay.
September 1, 2007... The demands of serving on a corporate board have changed sharply over this decade. Now, the rules of how we pay corporate directors are changing as well. Variable board pay, more creative use of equity, and more frequent review of board pay...

Internal audit expands its role worldwide.(Audit)
September 1, 2007... Although at various stages of maturity in diverse cultures, the practice of internal auditing is becoming more standardized throughout the world and is predicted to expand its role in organizational governance and risk management. These...

Growing executive pay ties closely to increased shareholder value.(Compensation & Recruitment)
September 1, 2007... A study of the 2007 proxies filed by the nation's largest public real estate companies indicates that the link between pay and performance is strengthening even as the absolute value of executive and board pay packages continues to increase....

Investors are looking closely at corporate ethics.(Liability & Litigation)
September 1, 2007... Seventy-six percent of investors in a new survey say they would move investments if they learned that a company with which they are invested is engaged in unethical but legal behavior, even though that behavior earned them a high...

Multinationals seek more sophisticated executive pension idea.(Pensions & Benefits)
September 1, 2007... In an era of increasingly sophisticated investment choices, many multinational companies are reexamining global investment policies and risk management strategies related to their retirement plans, a survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide has found....

TIAA-CREF has had a busy shareholder year.(Shareholders & Investors)
September 1, 2007... Over the past year, the $414-billion TIAA-CREF pension fund has continued to take steps on behalf of its participants to strengthen shareholder rights and promote sound corporate governance practices in U.S. and international markets. Some...

Pfizer directors will meet face-to-face with big investors.(Shareholder Relations)
September 1, 2007... Pfizer has announced that members of its board of directors will invite its largest institutional shareholders to a meeting where they will have an opportunity to provide comments and perspective on the company's governance policies and...

Ten years ago in The Corporate Board.(Retrospectives)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... A major limitation of the existing system of selecting outside directors is that it can be controlled by management. Even though these directors may have no other formal ties to the firm, candidates can still be screened to ensure friendliness...

Five years ago in The Corporate Board.(Retrospectives)
September 1, 2007... We cannot count on changes in corporate governance to substitute for needed reforms of the accounting and auditing disciplines. After all, most boards of directors are (and should be) collegial bodies closely attuned to, and sympathetic with,...

Books received.(Bibliography)
September 1, 2007... Compliance & Conviction: The Evolution of Enlightened Governance. By Curtis J. Crawford, Ph.D. XCEO. $29.95. A helpful overview of current corporate governance issues, and their impact on corporate boards. The Complete Guide to Executive...

Spoken & written: articles & speeches.(Quotation)
September 1, 2007... [Private equity companies] buy companies by putting up some cash and then borrow the rest. Their borrowing costs, which show up in the spread between their rates and 10-year Treasuries, have been at historic lows. The dirty little secret is...

Directors' register: recent board elections.
September 1, 2007... Arch Chemicals, Inc. has elected to its board David Lilley, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cytec Industries Inc., and William H. Powell, former chairman and chief executive officer of National Starch and Chemical Company....

Bruce Aust: NASDAQ takes on governance.(Conversations)(Interview)
September 1, 2007... Shareholders, regulators and the courts have been preaching the value of good corporate governance for some time, but now the stock exchanges are getting into the act. NASDAQ has launched a new online "matchmaking" service for prospective board...