New Universal Proxy Rules and What IR Needs to Know


January 27, 2022
2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern Time

Contested proxy elections are about to become even more challenging for companies. As a result of recent SEC rulemaking, effective August 31, 2022, company and dissident proxy cards in a contested director election will have to include both sides’ director nominees, so shareholders can “mix and match” nominees from the company’s and dissident’s slates of nominees. The rule allows funds of any size and with no minimum holdings threshold to put forth Board nominees easily and relatively inexpensively.

Implications for board directors, companies and for IR:
  • More board candidates: Hedge funds, nonprofit organizations or political activists, former founders, ex-CEOs and others running contests for director seats.
  • Director spotlight: Individual directors are more likely to become direct targets of a public activist campaign.
  • Need for companies to proactively increase board visibility and support
In this webinar, we discuss potential actions for IR, management and boards to start taking proactively to better communicate the value every board member brings.
 

Speakers:

  • Steve Balet, Managing Director, Strategic Governance Advisors
  • Kai Liekefett, Partner, Co-Chair Shareholder Activism Practice, Sidley Austin
  • Jason McCandless, Senior Director of M&A Research, Glass Lewis
  • Liz Zale, Managing Director, Sard Verbinnen & Co (moderator)