CEOs are taking a stand during divisive moments, complaining about the U.S. president and his policies, running ads on controversial topics and letting their political views be known. But is this a good thing? Some companies are saying “yes.” But a few governance and public relations experts are say “no,” or at least, “very rarely.”

The United States may no longer be the country for entrepreneurs to try out new technology and break things, says Ed Knight, executive vice president and global chief legal and policy officer at Nasdaq. He and Melissa Sawyer, partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, discuss some of the emerging issues in regulation and how regulators are changing their focus.

Amazon.com has set its sight on industries outside the disrupted retail space. Why not healthcare? That alarming angle was stoked in 2018 when Amazon teamed up with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Berkshire Hathaway to cut health care costs.

In the past few years activists have broadened their horizons, targeting even small and mid cap companies. Institutional investors are supporting activists more and more, and if you didn’t already have enough keeping you up at night, there are two new trends in this ever evolving landscape that put your company at risk.

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.

Last year was a good year to be an activist; not so much to be a company on the receiving end of a campaign. The wave of shareholder activism last year had corporate leaders on edge.

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.

In the fight against shareholder activism, Facebook won. At least for now. Activists pushed the company to split the chairman and CEO role for Mark Zuckerberg, who holds both titles and has come under a barrage of criticism over his handling of security and privacy issues in the last year.

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