Past Events
Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM @Virtual :
REGISTER
To view recording, go HERE
To order a copy of the book, go HERE
The Weinberg Center will be hosting a webinar featuring Jon Lukomnik and James Hawley focusing on their newly published book, “Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters”. The book tells the story of how Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) revolutionized the investing world and the real economy, but is now showing its age. MPT has no mechanism to understand its impacts on the environmental, social and financial systems, nor any tools for investors to mitigate the havoc that systemic risks can wreck on their portfolios. The authors believe that it’s time for MPT to evolve.
BIO – JON LUKOMNIK
BIO- JAMES HAWLEY
Past Events
Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM @Webinar :
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VIEW RECORDING OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR’S TALK
The Weinberg Center will be hosting a webinar featuring Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster from the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Weinberg Center’s 2021 John L. Weinberg Distinguished Speaker. BIO
The John L. Weinberg Distinguished Speaker series was begun by the Center as part of the Center’s initiative to highlight a prominent speaker who focuses on current and relevant corporate governance topics. This year we are delighted to host The Honorable J. Travis Laster, Vice Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Vice Chancellor Laster’s talk is titled “Purpose, Power, and Fiduciary Duty: Dimensions of Delaware’s Corporate Law Regime.” A short description of his talk follows:
The past two years have witnessed a reinvigorated debate over the purpose of the corporation, framed as a contest between a duty to prioritize the interests of stockholders and the ability to consider and balance the interests of multiple stakeholders. Delaware adheres to a traditional view of corporate law. That view, which dates back to the nineteenth century, imposes fiduciary duties on directors to pursue the best interests of the corporation for the ultimate benefit of its stockholders. But that view does not require that directors relentlessly seek to maximize the share price, nor that they follow the wishes of the holders of a majority of the shares. To the contrary, that view obligates directors to promote the long-term value of the corporation as a presumptively permanent entity, for the benefit of investors who have committed their capital indefinitely to the firm. Properly understood, a stockholder-oriented perspective requires the longest of long-term views, which necessarily requires consideration of stakeholder interests, as well as broader societal and environmental concerns.
This talk and the issues that will be highlighted are extremely important and timely. We hope you will join us for this event.
DELAWRE CLE: This webinar has been approved for 1.0 Delaware CLE credits.
Materials
- Leo E. Strine, Jr., “Our Continuing Struggle With The Idea That For-Profit Corporations Seek Profit,” 47 Wake Forest L. Rev. 135 (2012).– This article provides a thorough overview of the realities of stockholder-oriented governance.
- Frederick Hsu Living Trust v. ODN Holding Corporation, 2017 WL 1437308 (Del. Ch. Apr. 24, 2017). This is an edited version of a decision where the plaintiff alleged that the directors breached their fiduciary duties by prioritizing the interests of contractual claimants over their duties to stockholders. The contractual claimants in this case were preferred stockholders, but the legal principles apply to any contractual claimants.
- Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz,“It’s Time To Adopt The New Paradigm,” (Feb. 11, 2019). This memorandum from Wachtell Lipton captures the concerns that animate the move away from stockholder-oriented governance.
- Skadden, “Directors’ Fiduciary Duties: Back to Delaware Law Basics” (Feb. 19, 2020). This memorandum from Skadden provides a concise summary of existing Delaware law.
- The Business Roundtable, “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” (Aug. 19, 2019).This announcement from the Business Roundtable catalyzed the current debate over governance and demonstrated that the issue had gone mainstream.
Past Events
Tuesday, April 20, 2021, 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM @Webinar :
Co-Hosted with the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets
REGISTERVIEW RECORDING OF THE ROUNDTABLE
ESG issues are increasingly taking center stage in the boardroom and with investors. The Weinberg Center and the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets are co-hosting a webinar roundtable discussion, which will focus on how corporate boards can effectively oversee environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. In particular, as the risks from ESG issues such as climate change, water scarcity and human rights become more apparent, and with growing investor attention and action on ESG issues, it is increasingly important for corporate boards to understand how these issues affect business strategy and performance.
The Roundtable will review and discuss Ceres’ report, “Running the Risk: How Corporate Boards Can Oversee Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Issues,” which focuses on the critical role of the board in overseeing ESG risks in order to avoid potential financial losses and/or litigation, and to effectively respond to investor pressure.
In this webcast, the Roundtable participants will provide guidance on how boards can effectively oversee risks posed by ESG issues, and provide recommendations of questions directors should be asking management throughout the risk identification, prioritization and mitigation processes. Concrete recommendations will be offered for boards looking to improve their companies’ resilience in the face of ESG risks.
The Roundtable participants represent various constituencies – the corporate/director community, investor community, legal community, and academic community. The participants are:
- Veena Ramani, Senior Program Director, Capital Market Systems, Ceres (Moderator)
- Margaret Foran, Chief Governance Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary, Prudential Financial, Inc.
- Michael Younis, Vice President, Asset Stewardship Team, State Street Global Advisors
- Cynthia Williams, Professor, Osler Chair in Business Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and
- Susan Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Regardless of which of the Center’s valued constituencies you represent, the Roundtable will provide you with cutting-edge governance and ESG discussion and debate, as well as practical takeaways.
Delaware CLE: The Roundtable has been approved for 1.5 Delaware CLE credits.
Materials:
Past Events
Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM @Webinar :
REGISTER HERE
VIEW RECORDING OF THE ROUNDTABLE
The Weinberg Center’s 2021 Corporate Governance Symposium Roundtable will focus on “Governance and ESG Issues of Critical Importance to Boards and Investors in 2021.”
In the Roundtable portion of the Symposium, the participants will discuss 2021’s most challenging governance and ESG issues. These topics include board effectiveness, diversity and inclusion, climate change, sustainability, ESG reporting, human capital management, COVID-19’s impact on boards, and related board responsibility and oversight.
The Roundtable participants represent various constituencies – director community, investor community, corporate community, proxy advisors, and the Delaware judiciary. The participants are:
- Carol Ward, Senior Advisor, Corporate Governance Partners, Inc., and former Vice President and Corporate Secretary at Mondelēz International, Inc. (Moderator)
- Honorable Tamika Montgomery-Reeves, Justice, Supreme Court of Delaware
- Donna Anderson, Vice President and Head of Corporate Governance for T. Rowe Price
- Aeisha Mastagni, Portfolio Manager, Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies, California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS)
- Pat McGurn, Special Counsel and Head of Strategic Research and Analysis, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS)
- Gloria Santona, Of Counsel, Baker & McKenzie LLP; Director, Aon, PLC; and retired Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, McDonald’s Corporation
Regardless of which of the Center’s valued constituencies you represent, the Roundtable will provide you with cutting-edge governance and ESG discussion and debate, as well as practical takeaways.
Materials
Past Events
The Weinberg Center wants to congratulate the two winners of the John L. Weinberg/IRRCi Research Paper Award Competition:
- The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting
Lauren Cohen (Harvard & NBER), Umit Gurun (UT Dallas) and Quoc Nguyen (DePaul U.)
Read the paper
- The Distribution of Voting Rights to Shareholders
Vyacheslav Fos (Boston College), Cliff Holderness (Boston College)
Read the paper
These papers will be presented, along with the papers of the six semi-finalists, at the virtual academic portion of the Weinberg Center’s 2021 Corporate Governance Symposium that will be held on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 from 9:45 am to 3:00 pm.
Please join us in congratulating the winners and the semi-finalists.
Past Events
Tuesday, March 16, 2021, 9:45 AM to 3:00 PM @Webinar :
Co-sponsored with the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
REGISTER HERE
SESSIONS SCHEDULE HERE
VIEW RECORDING OF THE SYMPOSIUM HERE
VIEW INDIVIDUAL PAPER PRESENTATIONS
In collaboration with the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance and the Department of Finance at the Lerner College of Business & Economics, at the University of Delaware, will host its 2021 Annual Corporate Governance Symposium. The papers included in the Symposium collectively address new developments and critical issues within the area of ESG:
Morning Session: 10 a.m. – noon (EDT)
- The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting
Lauren Cohen (Harvard & NBER) (Presenter), Umit Gurun (UT Dallas) and Quoc Nguyen (DePaul U.)
Discussant: Laura Starks (University of Texas, Austin)
Read the Paper
- Responsible Institutional Investing Around the World
Rajna Brandon (U. Geneva), Simon Glossner (UVA), Philipp Krueger (U. Geneva), Pedro Matos (UVA) (Presenter), Tom Steffen (Osmosis Investment Management)
Discussant: Alexander Dyck (University of Toronto)
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- The Real Effects of Environmental Activist Investing
S. Lakshmi Naaraayanan (LBS), Kunal Sachdeva (Rice U.) (Presenter), Varun Sharma (LBS)
Discussant: Lilian Ng (York University)
Read the Paper
- Coordinated Engagements
Elroy Dimson (U. Cambridge) (Presenter), Oğuzhan Karakaş (U. Cambridge), Xi Li (LSE)
Discussant: Wei Jiang (Columbia University)
Read the Paper
Afternoon Session: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. (EDT)
- The Big Three and Board Gender Diversity: The Effectiveness of Shareholder Voice
Todd Gormley (Wash U.), Vishal Gupta (U. Alabama), David Matsa (Northwestern U.), Sandra Mortal (U. of Alabama) (Presenter), Lukai Yang (U. of Alabama)
Discussant: Tracy Wang (University of Minnesota)
Read the Paper
- The Distribution of Voting Rights to Shareholders
Vyacheslav Fos (Boston College) (Presenter), Cliff Holderness (Boston College)
Discussant: Michelle Lowry (Drexel University)
Read the Paper
- Trading and Shareholder Democracy
Doron Levit (U. of Washington), Nadya Malenko (U. of Michigan) (Presenter), Ernst Maug (U. of Mannheim) Discussant: Liyan Yang (University of Toronto)
Read the Paper
- Disloyal Managers and Shareholders’ Wealth
Eli Fich (Drexel U.) (Presenter), Jarrad Harford (U. of Washington), Anh Tran (U. of London)
Discussant: Xiaoyun Yu (Indiana University)
Read the paper
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 John L. Weinberg/IRRCi Research Paper Award competition, which seeks to highlight innovative research and includes an award of US$10,000:
- “The ESG-Innovation Disconnect: Evidence from Green Patenting” (Cohen, Gurun, and Nguyen)
- “The Distribution of Voting Rights to Shareholders” (Fos and Holderness)
