Activist Ubben Repents, a Dissident Win at Aryzta, Boardroom Diversity Data |
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This week, Jeff Ubben, former head of ValueAct sat down with Bloomberg’s Ed Hammond, to apologize. Ubben recently left the activist hedge fund he founded to launch Inclusive Capital Partners, an ESG-focused fund, in a move he refers to as the start of a “crusade” to “fix the harm” he caused by pushing returns at his portfolio companies over long-term growth and societal good. Ubben’s sentiment reflects the broader debate around stakeholder capitalism vs. shareholder primacy and the long-term impacts of each. He goes on to say that much of the ESG messaging from companies is “corporate spin” and that he wants to help companies “deep in the problem.”
In other news, Veraison Capital and Cobas Asset Management were victorious at Aryzta’s annual meeting, with shareholders voting for all three of their board nominees, and the company’s CEO being removed. This came on the heels of reports last week that Elliott Management were in takeover talks with the food company. Such talks were nipped in the bud by Veraison and Cobas, who urged Aryzta not to accept the deal.
While the number of women directors is rising across Corporate America, overall diversity in the boardroom is still quite low, according to research published this week by BoardEx. This was further backed up in The New York Times, citing research from Institutional Shareholder Services that found little progress has been made in creating more diverse boardrooms, with underrepresented ethnic and racial groups now making up 12.5% of boards vs. 10% in 2015. Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, founder of theBoardlist, said that while companies have made some progress, key strategic positions on boards are still “overwhelmingly controlled by white directors.”
Have a good weekend,
Joel
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Bloomberg: A Capitalist Repents: Jeff Ubben Is Out to Make Things Right
“I’m on a crusade,” Ubben, 59, said in an interview at the Bloomberg Green Festival this week. “I’m late in life. I’ve got five years to fix the harm I’ve done.” Read More
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Activist Insight: Activists prevail in Aryzta fight
Veraison Capital and Cobas Asset Management have landed a victory at Aryzta’s Tuesday special meeting, getting all of their proposals approved by the Swiss bakery chain’s shareholders. Read More
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The New York Times: Diversity Push Barely Budges Corporate Boards to 12.5%, Survey Finds
Despite pledges to nominate more members of underrepresented ethnic and racial groups, companies have made little progress over the last five years. Read More
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BoardEx: Diversity A Must For Effective Corporate Governance
Corporate boards need to go beyond superficial diversity and simply counting the number of women or people of color if they want to ensure effective corporate governance, according to a panel hosted by The Deal and Cozen O'Connor. Read More
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Reuters – Breakingviews: Offensive driving
Navistar, the U.S. truck company in which Carl Icahn holds 17%, wants Volkswagen to raise its $4.3 bln bid. Savings potentially worth almost as much mean the automaker run by Herbert Diess can pay more. But falling sales and cash outlays mean shares could fall sharply if the Germans walk. Read More
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Reuters: Vanguard faults Alphabet on CEO pay, names new proxy chief
Vanguard Group Inc said it voted against the pay of Alphabet Inc executives, including new CEO Sundar Pichai, one of several examples of proxy voting the top mutual fund firm gave in a report to be released on Tuesday as it names a new stewardship chief. Read More
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MarketWatch: BlackRock and Pimco-backed Climate Action 100+ intensifies push for net-zero emissions at companies they hold
Non-binding letter advises companies to set medium-term objectives to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels. Read More
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The Deal: FirstGroup Receives ‘Significant’ Interest for North America Unit
The British transportation company said it has received significant interest for its North America but warns the pandemic will delay the sale. Read More
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Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: The Stakeholder Model and ESG
This post by executive compensation advisory firm Pay Governance addresses, at a “conceptual” level, key questions and guidelines for assessing a company’s readiness for implementing ESG metrics and goals in executive incentive programs in the context of the evolving stakeholder model. Read More
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Stanford Graduate School of Business: Do Investors Really Care About Gender Diversity?
Shareholders penalize tech and finance companies for not hiring enough women, new research shows. Read More
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Speakers include Leo Strine of WLRK, Maureen Farrell of the Wall Street Journal and BlackRock's Ray Cameron.
The Deal Economy virtual event features a week of online sessions covering the state of the M&A market as it rebounds from the Covid-19 pandemic and heads into 2021.
Speakers include Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman and Jeff Ubben.
Forum for people and organizations driven by a collective commitment to divergent thinking and sustainable solutions to some of the world's greatest needs.
This virtual event features four days of online sessions exploring the biggest challenges facing companies today as they shift their focus to more sustainable practices, stronger ESG initiatives and preparing for longer-term risks all while managing customer and shareholder needs.
The world’s largest and most comprehensive IR Event, with three days dedicated to your professional development and networking. With dozens of education offerings in a variety of new and exciting formats, there will be plenty of time to connect with your peers while meeting your goals and objectives.
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