A Few More Observations From The 2022 Meeting Battlefront – And Some “Problem Areas” To Note
The problem of “meeting congestion” on the busiest meeting dates continues to be a growing issue for issuers - and for their key suppliers: We predict that issuers will increasingly have to vie for favorable meeting dates and times, since at best, there are only eight...
Morrow Sodali Celebrates 50 Year Anniversary By “Building Together”
The OPTIMIZER interviews Adam Frederick, Global President, Bill Ultan, Managing Director – Corporate Governance and Greg Reppucci, Senior Director– Sustainability & Corporate Governance Through a combination of savvy strategic acquisitions and a continued focus on...
Will ‘Big Brother’ Really Be Looking At Your VSMs This Year?
We have been reporting on comments from ISS - and from several large investors as well - that they would be monitoring Virtual Shareholder Meetings to assure that shareholders will have a meaningful chance to ask questions - and to “engage in a dialogue with...
When Pigs Fly
Ever hear this old expression, to indicate a totally unlikely event? Well damned, if pigs aren’t indeed flying high - on the proxy voting front! More kudos to Liz Dunshee for reporting that activist investor Carl Icahn’s fight for the rights of pregnant pigs not to be...
The 2022 Season Starts Out With A Big Bang
As Liz Dunshee reported in her March 13 blog, “This voting outcome arrives at the same time that the UN Environment Assembly has agreed to negotiate a legally binding treaty to tackle plastics, which many are calling the next ‘Paris Accord.’ That comparison is...
Are VSMs “On The Wane” As ISS Asserts?
Not by our reckoning: After reading the ISS assessment in their quarterly update, we went straight to the books - and to our own records of 2022 Shareholder Meetings scheduled as of April 1, 2022. That day, we had 480 meetings booked where our team of Inspectors were...
Revised Rules of Conduct For In-Person, Virtual-Only and Hybrid Meetings of Shareholders
XYZ Corporation welcomes you to its __th Annual Meeting of Stockholders. In fairness to all stockholders in attendance, and in order to provide stockholders an opportunity to be heard – and in the interest of conducting an orderly meeting, within a reasonable time...
A Sample “Run-Of-Show” For A Satisfying And Successful VSM
With our comments on the most important best practices to adopt - and on bad and worst practices to avoid: Twenty minutes prior to the Meeting time there should be a welcoming message on the Meeting site - with a visually pleasing background, easy-to-read typefaces...
Our Shareholder Meeting Playbook For 2022
First and most important, it should be a fully-written-out and carefully annotated script - ideally color-coded - with large, easy-to-read type and clearly written cues for all participants - with color-coded speakers’ and technicians’ names - and with easily accessed...
Annual Meeting Advice: PICKING THE PROPER LOCATION & MEETING FORMAT
Now that you’re done with the preliminary homework of scoping, mapping and analyzing your shareholder demographics, the next step is to review your meeting options with regard to “location” - and to decide on a venue, an agenda, and the technological tools - including...
Podcast Alert: Annual Meeting Season 2026 — Expert Advice from Carl & Peder Hagberg
Carl and Peder Hagberg of The Shareholder Service OPTIMIZER join Meredith Ervine from TheCorporateCounsel.net to discuss proxy season risks, virtual meetings, and shareholder engagement for 2026.
Listen to hear their insights on this year’s annual meeting season.