Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q1, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, The Basics
Last year, we attended the meeting of a long-term client where we were shocked! Shocked!…to see more women wearing hats and gloves – and more men carrying hats – than we have seen in one place since the 1950s.
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q1, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Issues, Proxy, Virtual Meetings
Guess what? It’s been nine years since the first “virtual only” annual meeting…at Inforte…
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q2, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Issues, Proxy
What, If Anything, Can We Learn – To Better Prepare For 2011?
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q2, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Issues, Proxy, Virtual Meetings
So far this season, there have been 20 “Virtual Shareholder Meetings”: About half were “totally virtual meetings” – held totally in cyberspace – and the rest were so-called “hybrid virtual meetings”
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q2, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, Proxy
Indicative, We Think, Of A Serious Level Of “Inattention To Details” And A Serious Industry Brain-Drain
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q4, Annual Meetings, Compliance & Ethics, Issues, Money Saving Ideas
Great news for public companies, though bad news for most proxy solicitors, the 2011 Proxy Season seems to be shaping up as the least contentious one in a decade or more:
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q4, Annual Meetings, Investor Relations, Issues, Virtual Meetings
Regular readers know that we have been following developments on the “Virtual Only” Annual and Special Meeting front from the get-go, and that we are big fans of the concept – and especially of the big potential money-savings that can be realized.
Aug 15, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q4, Annual Meetings, Investor Relations, Issues
While Virtual Meetings have been getting lots of notice of late, we think that Virtual Investor Forums have the potential to transform the corporate governance landscape in an even bigger and better way
Aug 14, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q2, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Compliance & Ethics, Corporate Governance, Issues
And Maybe To Consider Moving To A “Simple Majority Vote” To Pass All But The Most Economically Important Proposals A lot of speculation went on last year and this about the potential effect of the “broker may NOT vote rule”…which turned out to be mainly a non-issue...
Aug 14, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q3, Annual Meetings, Compliance & Ethics, Issues, Virtual Meetings
s mentioned elsewhere in this issue, activist investors, the press, and assorted other “noisemakers” sure piled onto Symantec Corporation, following their first-ever totally virtual annual meeting. We were kind of glad they did…first because it proved the point we...
Aug 14, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Q3, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Compliance & Ethics, Issues, Money Saving Ideas, Virtual Meetings
Despite the many good things your editor, and other managers and consumers of Virtual Meetings have to say about them, they’ve been coming under heavy fire of late. Activist Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management has presented Intel, Broadridge Financial Solutions and...
Aug 14, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Supplement, Annual Meetings, Compliance & Ethics, Investor Relations, Issues
REACHING OUT TO DIRECTORS WITH SOME GOOD DIRECTOR EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Those gosh-darned university off-sites aimed at Directors seem to be proliferating like flies on a warm mincemeat pie – although lately, a bit of much needed consolidation seems to be afoot. The...
Aug 4, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Supplement, Annual Meetings, Interviews, Issues
An Interview With Chuck Callan, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Broadridge Financial Solutions
Aug 4, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Supplement, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Interviews, Investor Relations, Issues
The Optimizer Editor’s Annual Interview With Ellen Philip And Cal Donly Of Ellen Philip Associates
Aug 4, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Supplement, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Compliance & Ethics, Interviews, Investor Relations, Issues, Proxy
The Optimizer Interviews Dannette Smith, Secretary To The Board Of Unitedhealth Group, Incorporated, The Winner Of Corporate Secretary Magazine’s 2010 Award For Best Proxy Statement
Aug 4, 2010 | 2010, 2010 Supplement, Activist Investors, Annual Meetings, Compliance & Ethics, Interviews, Investor Relations, Issues
Some Thoughts – And Lots Of Practical Tips – From Steven L. Brown, Director Of Corporate Governance, TIAA-CREF
Aug 18, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q2, Annual Meetings, Issues, Proxy, Virtual Meetings
Your editor had the honor to serve as the Inspector of Election at Intel’s 2009 annual meeting, the first “virtual annual meeting” ever.
Aug 18, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q3, Annual Meetings, Issues, Proxy
The SEC – which was expected to vote on Direct Access to the corporate proxy machinery for the purpose of nominating director candidates on Nov. 8th, announced in early October that it would delay a vote on the final rules until early 2010 – to be sure that they would “get itright.”
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q1, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, Virtual Meetings
This is the beginning of a totally new approach to Annual Meetings, and one that will ultimately result in a totally new A-M paradigm, we think.
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q1, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues
If you missed the original webcast on this subject, sponsored by The Capital Markets Board, you can hear it on our website
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q2, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, Proxy
It did not take a smart reporter very long to sniff out a problem with the way Apple reported its 2009 voting results – especially with regard to the “widely watched” Say on Pay proposal, which Apple reported had been defeated.
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q2, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, Proxy
The first commandment when it comes to tabulating and reporting Meeting results is this: “Always prove every item to the Quorum”
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q2, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues
Another of our very favorite topics has jumped to the forefront this season: We’ve been warning year after year about the need to be sure that you have the proper authority to adjourn your annual or special meeting…
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q2, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, Proxy
When announcing results at the meeting, the best practice is to stick tightly to the numbers.
Aug 15, 2009 | 2009, 2009 Q3, Annual Meetings, Best & Worst Practices, Issues, Proxy
Our Top “Practical Tips” On What To Do… To Head-Off A Potentially Career-Ending Snafu
