The Informed Board

How do you know if your company is likely to be a target for activists? And what is the best way to respond when approached by an activist? 

Skadden M&A partner Ann Beth Stebbins discusses the activist’s playbook with Ted White of Legion Partners Asset Management, a veteran activist investor, and Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman, head of the firm’s Shareholder Engagement and Activism Practice. 

Activists seek to identify comp...

Investors often believe that companies are too slow to refresh their boards.  Directors and CEOs may also think that their companies do not have the right mix of directors, as strategies change and some directors’ skills become dated. 

Yet annual board turnover remains low and fairly steady, Spencer Stuart partner Laurel McCarthy tells podcast host, Skadden M&A partner Ann Beth Stebbins. Together with Skadden partner, ...

What do investors think makes a board effective? Skadden M&A partner Ann Beth Stebbins kicks off the discussion with that question with her guests, Allie Rutherford and Adrienne Monley of PTJ Camberview, which advises companies on shareholder relations. 

It's a board that evolves with the trends, says Allie. It's a board that discloses its composition in a way that conveys how the skill sets and the experiences of particula...

In this episode of the Informed Board podcast, our host, Skadden M&A partner Ann Beth Stebbins is joined by guest, Rebecca Corbin from Corbin Advisors, to explore the critical role that board directors play in shareholder engagement. Corbin stresses that a proactive approach toward shareholder engagement can enhance a company’s value. 

In their conversation, Ann Beth and Rebecca discuss how a board can best stay attuned to...

“There’s certainly an argument to be made, that the moment you name a new CEO, then you ought to be starting to think about who the next person is,” says Blair Jones. 

In this episode of the Informed Board podcast, our host, Skadden M&A partner Ann Beth Stebbins, is joined by guests, Blair Jones, a managing director at Semler Brossy Consulting Group LLC, and Erica Schohn, partner and head of the Executive Compensation and B...

Skadden partners Ann Beth Stebbins, David Schwartz and Lara Flath discuss the implications for US companies of the Supreme Court’s decision in June striking down race-based affirmative action programs in higher education. David Schwartz is global head of Skadden’s labor and employment group, and Lara Flath is a Skadden litigation partner who represented the University of North Carolina (UNC) in the litigation relating to its consid...

Companies now face an additional regulatory hurdle when making acquisitions in the European Union. In addition to merger control and foreign direct investment (FDI) filings, they will be subject to the EU’s new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), Skadden partner Giorgio Motta explains. The law, which took effect in July, allows the European Commission to look into acquisitions of, and investments in, businesses in Europe by non-EU ...

In 2022, the U.S. restricted technology exports to China that might have military uses, and an executive order is expected soon limiting investments in certain Chinese tech companies. Skadden M&A partner Ann Beth Stebbins leads a discussion about the reasons for the rules and their impact on companies doing business in China. Joining her are Jessie Liu, a partner in Skadden’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Group, and p...

The SEC’s Rule 14a-8, which gives shareholders the right to put proposals to a vote of other shareholders, was adopted to allow shareholders access to other shareholders and management, BlackRock Head of External Affairs Dalia Blass explained. But it came with some protections to prevent proposals that would be a waste of time, such as those that had little to do with the company’s business. Ahead of the 2022 proxy season, the SEC ...

In a move intended to “democratize” shareholder voting, several large index funds are giving their investors a say in how shares are voted, instead of leaving those choices to fund managers’ stewardship teams. In the pilot projects, aimed primarily at institutional investors, fund investors are given several options: to vote as the fund manager’s stewardship team recommends; to vote with management; to vote according to an advisor;...

Skadden partners Ann Beth Stebbins and Ki Hong, Joele Frank partner Jamie Moser and the chief people officer of Duck Creek Technologies, Courtney Townsend, discuss the demands companies face to take positions on political and social issues and growing scrutiny of corporate political contributions.

Corporate culture is important to today’s work force, and employees often expect their employers to speak out on political and social iss...

In this inaugural episode of “The Informed Board” podcast, Skadden partners Maria Raptis and Raquel Fox join our host Ann Beth Stebbins to discuss changing approaches to antitrust and securities regulation in Washington. They talk about new priorities in antitrust enforcement, new disclosure initiatives by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the obstacles that could hinder regulatory rulemaking. 

Since President B...

From Skadden, The Informed Board is a podcast for directors facing the rapidly evolving challenges of a global market. A complement to our newsletter for directors, our aim with this podcast is to help flag potential problems that may not be fully appreciated, explain trends, share our observations and give directors practical guidance without a lot of legal jargon.

Join Skadden partners who draw on years of front-line experience in...