Environmental and social issues dominated the 2021 proxy season. Companies faced pressure from investors, employees, customers, and regulators to both enhance their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices and broadcast the results. On…
Boards and General Management
On November 3, 2021, Bank Governance Leadership Network (BGLN) participants met virtually to discuss evolving challenges, risks, and opportunities in how banks collect, store, analyze, and use data. Participants were joined by guests including…
Innovation and technology, Risk management and oversight, Financial Strategy / Banking
The long-term sustainability and success of large companies depends on a variety of factors, many of which are influenced by the actions of boards and their compensation committees. Recent events, including an eventful proxy season, a prolonged…
Executive Compensation, Investor perspectives on public companies
Many institutional investors now view sustainability as a critical driver of operating and financial performance and assert that a company’s ability to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into its strategy is key to value…
Board and committee effectiveness, Boards and General Management, Investor perspectives on public companies
Nearly every large public company has made significant investments in cybersecurity. But even where internal management of cyber risk appears strong, a board may worry that its oversight of digital security is inadequate—or that it has no reliable…
Board and committee effectiveness, Boards and General Management, Board risk oversight, Cybersecurity
Multicancer early detection (MCED) is an emerging set of technologies that—with a blood, breath, urine, saliva, or stool sample—can enable clinicians to rapidly screen for multiple cancer types at once. These technologies could potentially be used…
Precision medicine and diagnostics, Health system readiness / Healthcare
On July 22, 2021, Bank Governance Leadership Network (BGLN) participants met virtually to discuss how retail and commercial payments are changing and the risks and opportunities that presents for banks. A range of payments providers are acquiring…
Conduct and culture, Regulation and supervision, Financial Strategy / Banking
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting is now a priority for directors of the largest companies. It is a rapidly evolving issue, with yawning expectation gaps between private standard setters, issuers, regulators, and investors,…
Accounting and financial reporting, Boards and General Management, Corporate and board regulatory matters
Recent months have seen a surge of ransomware attacks, in which attackers extort substantial sums from organizations by making critical data inaccessible or threatening to expose it. The attacks against Colonial Pipeline, JBS, and Apple, among…
Boards and General Management, Board risk oversight, Cybersecurity
Ethical culture is critical to the performance and reputation of every business, and boards are ultimately accountable for the cultures of the companies they oversee. Yet culture remains elusive and there is no universal framework or approach to…
Board and committee effectiveness, Boards and General Management, Board risk oversight