DealBook Was Standing Room Only, Except the Man in the Bahamas Was Sitting 

GPP attended the New York Times DealBook Summit --- aka Andrew Ross Sorkin’s annual Bar Mitzvah --- which was in person for the first time in three years. Held at Jazz at Lincoln Center, it was jam packed and standing room only for speakers such as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg (remotely). Netflix’s Reed Hastings spoke about satisfying customers and growing operating income, while Ben Affleck said being famous was really no fun. Zuckerberg said his head wasn’t just in the metaverse, he swears. Treasury Secretary Yellen confirmed an anecdote in a new book about her by WSJ reporter Jon Hilsenrath that because she was always a preparer, she smoked marijuana in advance of a party to better prepare for what a pot party would be like.


One prominent CEO drew an activist of sorts in Andy Jassy of Amazon. While the Times warned darkly in advance that there may be protests that could slow the entrance into the building, in reality out in front on Columbus Circle there were a handful of people holding signs and doing interviews, including Christopher Smalls, the union organizer of Amazon’s JFK warehouse in Staten Island who was fired by Amazon. It was all a mild-mannered affair. At least compared to the end of day interview Sorkin did with SBF, which garnered reactions all over Twitter.


It’s been a few weeks since we spoke about Elon Musk’s moves at Twitter and there has been no shortage of headline-making events. Musk is in the crosshairs of U.S and E.U. regulators, as the European Commission threatened to ban the social network. At home, the acquisition itself is reported to be under review in Washington. The list of grievances includes banned accounts, disinformation policies and content moderation. All the while, Musk busied himself with an announcement at Neuralink, yet-another Musk-backed venture, that the company will implant a computer into a human brain in the next six months. Start with SBF?


Finally, we provide you with a deeper dive into a subject that has been top-of-mind in the corporate governance community. GPP has put together a note that examines BlackRock’s decision that allows individual investors to participate in proxy voting. Specifically, we look at what this will mean for communications campaigns and best practices for reaching individual shareholders.


Have a great weekend,

GPP Team 

FEATURED ARTICLES

New York Times’ DealBook: What We Learned From Sam Bankman-Fried, Mark Zuckerberg, Reed Hastings and More

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the crypto exchange FTX, broke his silence in an over hour-long interview with Andrew Ross-Sorkin in a tell-all interview at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit. Read More

Financial Times: EU and US Turn Up the Heat on Elon Musk Over Twitter

The EU Commission warned Musk he must follow their content moderation policies, while US regulators are investigating if foreign ownership of Twitter poses any national security risks. Read More

The Wall Street Journal: Elon Musk’s Unconventional Management Style: Former Employees Share Stories

Former Tesla and SpaceX employees give an in-depth view of the leadership style of Elon Musk, a notoriously intense manager. Watch Here

ADDITIONAL READINGS & LISTENINGS 

Yale Law Journal: Barbarians Inside the Gates: Raiders, Activists, and the Risk of Mistargeting

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Zohar Goshen (Columbia Law School) and Reilly S. Steel (Princeton University) argue that, more often than not, activist investors are more harmful than corporate raiders. Read More

Leadership Next Podcast: Citi CEO Jane Fraser is Bringing Empathy to Banking

Fortune’s Alan Murray and Ellen McGirt interview Jane Fraser, CEO of Citi, to discuss her efforts to steer the company in the right direction, as well as her opinions on the future of work, the economy and crypto. Listen Here

The Deal: Activists Graduate from Established Funds

Ron Orol reports on an emerging trend in the activist landscape—the increased number of new activist funds run by former employees of major hedge funds. Read More

ESG NEWS

CEO Daily: Former Unilever CEO Paul Polman Explains Why Climate Is ‘No Longer A Peripheral Issue’ for Business Leaders 

A longtime advocate for businesses to be engaged social actors, Paul Polman explains the integral role businesses must play in the fight against climate change. Read More

Roll Call: Labor Department Finds Compromise in ESG Investment Rule

Ellen Meyers reports on the U.S. Labor Department’s decision granting financial firms the ability to make investment decisions based on ESG factors rather than only select investments by financial results. Read More

CLS Blue Sky Blog: Wachtell Lipton Discusses ESG and Stakeholder Governance Within the Framework of Fiduciary Duties

Wachtell Lipton Partners, Martin Lipton, Adam Emmerich, Kevin Schwartz, Sabastian Niles and Anna D’pinto, write that politicized attacks against ESG initiatives inherently misunderstand the concept of ESG and its governance benefits. Read More

FROM OUR DESK TO YOURS


As is usual this time of year, the GPP team had another jam-packed week. GPPers attended IR Magazine’s ESG Integration Forum in Midtown to hear from IR, ESG and investment leaders opine on the current state of the movement and its future. Sarah Bratton-Hughes, Head of ESG and Sustainable Investing at American Century Investments, pointed out that ESG isn’t political, it’s just data, and expressed a need for companies to better articulate how ESG initiatives are driving bottom line value.


This past Wednesday, in the shadows of our office, the 90th anniversary of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting tradition brought crowds to Midtown to marvel at its beauty. Fun fact: this year’s tree comes from Queensbury, New York in the Adirondacks, reaching 82 ft above ground and is topped with a Swarovski star with three million crystals.  With musical performances by a number of Grammy winners along with a very special performance by the students from the P.S. 14Q Chorus in Queens, New York, GPPers walked over to see the tree and had drinks at our new favorite hotspot, Le Rock, for natural wine and views of the Rock Center Christmas tree. The event marks the beginning of the holiday season of eating and drinking every night. Remember to work out folks! 

PEOPLE MOVES


  • Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor is stepping down at the end of January following one year in the role. This leaves Bret Taylor as the sole CEO of the company. Read More


  • After less than 90 days at the helm, AMC Networks CEO Christina Spade is leaving the company. Spade was appointed CEO in September, after a stint as CFO of the entertainment company. Read More


  • The Financial Times has appointed Tom Braithwaite to News Editor and Anne-Sylvaine Chassany as Companies Editor effective January 2023. Read More


  • Jack Pitcher will be covering stocks and the market at the Wall Street Journal. He was previously covering corporate finance at Bloomberg. Read More
UPCOMING EVENTS

December 7, 2022: Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit 

December 13, 2022: Bloomberg Activism Forum

December 13-14, 2022: Yale CEO Summit 

January 10-13, 2022: 40th Annual J.P. Morgan Health Care Conference

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