BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, threw its weight around recently. Chairman and CEO Larry Fink wrote a letter to CEOs in January explaining BlackRock’s further divestment from the fossil fuel industry. He said BlackRock would hold companies and directors accountable when they don’t address sustainability and climate change.

Energy headlines this year have focused on the federal government’s regulatory roll back and the lawsuits challenging those decisions. As a result, energy executives have to monitor a dizzying array of developments, changes and threats in the compliance space.

The federal government and the states just can’t seem to agree these days. Two major areas of disagreement are the legal status of marijuana and the issue of the environment.

The next major cyber threat isn’t in the healthcare industry. It isn’t banking, either, thanks in part to both of those industries’ strict regulations. Manufacturing is undergoing a transformation that will increase risk in that industry, so is that the next major area at risk of cyber threats?

Although it’s rare, boards and corporate leaders should prepare for potential challenges from hedge fund activists targeting environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Here’s how.

It’s not a secret that activist hedge funds may not represent the interests of a company’s shareholder base. But a report from Institutional Shareholder Services shows that they don’t look like them, either.

Every year, growing companies consider exploring public markets, where they can find the huge benefit of immediate access to capital. But taking that step also can be a large expense, and it can change the way companies operate, what management teams focus on and how autonomous they are. Senior executives making decisions about going public have a lot to think about.

Companies and boards should consider a public outrage as a potential risk to their reputation and operations, and prepare a crisis management response playbook.

The current state of M&A activity contradicts predictions made in 2018. Back in December, countless articles predicted a slowing economy would lead to a slow down in M&A but as recession fears have receded, M&A has continued its hot streak.

2019 could be the year of the human, at least where shareholder proposals are concerned. Proposals this year run the gamut, from talent and diversity, to battling plastics and opioids. A snapshot of four human issues making the rounds at annual meetings.