Category: Management

In recent years, virtually all boards acknowledge that an annual board evaluation is required by “best practices.” How that evaluation should be done, by the board members themselves or by outside “experts” still remains an open matter. And whether these evaluations, either internal or external, are in most cases useful in improving board performance or in “weeding out” nonproductive directors, is also a matter open to debate. Which evaluation practices offer the best chance of improving board performance?

Great series of videos in which Richard Levy, chairman of Varian Medical Systems, talks about what makes an effective board with Jim Balassone, executive-in-residence at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.

http://corpgov.proxyexchange.org/2012/04/video-friday-svnacd-series-on-what-makes-an-effective-board/#more-11938

The International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) has published best practice guidelines on political contributions (the Guidelines). The Guidelines adopt a multi-jurisdictional approach, outlining a global policy for political donations for companies….

Abstract: We use an observable action (non-executive directors’ insider trading) and an observable outcome (the market assessment of a board-ratified merger) to infer collusion between a firm’s executive and non-executive directors. We show that CEOs are more likely to be retained when both directors and CEOs sell abnormal amounts of equity before the delinquent accounting […]

(Abstract) – Do bankruptcy changes in the institutional environment affect the rate of founding by particular types of founders and the performance of their ventures?

This guide aims to assist board members of publicly held banks, BHCs, and other financial services companies — and of nonfinancial publicly held corporations — in designing, developing, and operating a board-level risk committee. Dodd-Frank1 and the NPR will soon require such committees for certain BHCs.

http://bdti.mastertree.jp/f/sjgkvuhc

On December 7, 2011, Nicholas Benes (Representative Director of BDTI) gave a lecture at the Temple University Japan Campus on the above topic. The speech can be viewed at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pT_FdMN7Wo

The presentation materials may be downloaded by registered users of BDTI's Discussion Forum,in the data library at:

Mr. Koji Miyata, a retired director of Olympus, has set up a web site to collect the names of those employees, ex-employees, and shareholders of Olympus who support the return of Michael Woodford as CEO and President of Olympus.

Here is the English version of the web site, with a separate page with a message to employees from Mr. Woodford, who is still a member of the board of Olympus:

Web site:

http://www.olympusgrassroots.com/en/letter.html

Letter from Mr. Woodford:

In this keynote address delivered to participants at the 2011 Ascendant Compliance Conference, CFA Institute Board of Governors Vice-Chair Alan Meder considers the value of integrity to the capital markets, while developing a powerful rationale for instilling a culture of integrity at asset management firms.

Risk Assessment – And Why You Stink at It

You stink at assessing risk. There, I said it. The thing is, I stink at assessing risk, too. We all do. If you watch Shark Week, for example, you will likely be petrified of the ocean even though your pajamas are more likely to catch fire than a shark is to attack you. People are prone to (at least) six errors in judgment when appraising risk.

(Here they are –> http://bit.ly/orEgvP )