With an increasing number of investors focusing on “intangibles” in their institutional analysis, Elena Basova, Senior Analyst at Nasdaq IR Intelligence, and Martyn Chapman, Head of Strategy for Nasdaq Governance Solutions, weigh in on how companies can best use an ESG framework to quantify their assets.

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.

Steve Balet, managing director of Strategic Governance Advisors and Scott Barshay, partner and head of M&A at Paul Weiss, discuss how the C-suite and board should think about, and prepare for, an activist investor.

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.

Everyone on your board knows who the weak link is. Maybe it’s someone who has a spotty attendance record. It could be the person that doesn’t read the board notes but shows up for the coffee and schmoozing. You know who he is (& likely it is a he because 76 % of U.S. board seats are held by men, according to Spencer Stuart). Yet, even when boards conduct an annual evaluation the weakest board member remains on the board of directors. Why?

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

Al Dominick, CEO of DirectorCorps, shares the concept behind the Looking Ahead board leadership series that explores emerging ideas and opportunities with today’s key executives and directors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee voted to ask the SEC to investigate whether public companies should be required to disclose information around the idea of human capital management. Analysis is underway. While it won’t impact you this proxy season, here’s what you need to know.

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.

Corporate fascination with M&A hasn’t eroded in 2019, and health care is a major area in the M&A game this year. Yet, the path to growth, according to this group of CEOs, is not through M&A.