Tag archives: board composition

Digitizing Board Meetings

In the day and age of virtual reality and delivery dinner at the click of a button, it seems almost comical to think that we use sliced bread to explain an invention’s usefulness. Given today’s unprecedented surge in technology, it is perhaps unsurprising that the EY Center for Board Matters (“EY”) reported digital transformation as … Continue reading

How independent are independent directors?

By Denise Gan (Toronto) on July 26, 2017 Posted in Corporate Governance

Board independence is a pillar of good corporate governance. It ensures that a corporation’s management is properly monitored and that the corporation’s decisions effectively balance the various stakeholders’ interests. Over the past decades, Canadian regulators (with support from investors) have required companies to increase the number of independent directors on their boards and have created … Continue reading

An age of shareholder empowerment

By The Special Situations Team on January 16, 2017 Posted in Corporate Governance, Shareholder Activism

In a corporate directors survey (the Survey) entitled “The swinging pendulum: Board governance in the age of shareholder empowerment”, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) presents current trends in investor influence and their impact on governance practices of boards and management teams. Conducted amongst 884 company directors in the summer of 2016 with respondents representing over 24 industries, … Continue reading

Top board priorities for 2016

By The Special Situations Team on January 7, 2016 Posted in Corporate Governance

With 2016 upon us, boards are likely to reflect on the organizational challenges they expect to face in the coming year, and to develop effective strategies to tackle these challenges. A recent EY publication anticipates that in developing these strategies, boards will focus their energies on addressing the following five critical challenges: 1. Board effectiveness, … Continue reading

Board renewal: A focus on board performance

By Kassy Corothers (Calgary) on February 9, 2015 Posted in Corporate Governance

Long-serving boards and board renewal policies may face increasing scrutiny in the 2015 proxy season. Canada’s Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) recently released a position paper, Beyond Term Limits: Using Performance Management to Guide Board Renewal (the ICD Paper) which calls on boards of directors to rethink their board renewal policies and encourages a more … Continue reading