Online seminar on Corporate Governance in the US and EU: reform or stagnation?

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Abstract

Since the Business Roundtable’s stakeholder-friendly statement on corporate purpose in 2019, there has been a renewed discussion about corporate governance in the US. But critics have quickly noted companies signing the statement have not changed their practices. In the EU, several countries as well as the European Commission are proposing stricter legislation for corporate accountability with respect to their non-financial impact. On both sides of the Atlantic, public concerns about corporations’ role in contributing to environmental damage, economic inequality, lack of inclusion, privacy violations, etc. continue unabated. Where is the debate about corporate governance moving in the US and in the EU? Will real changes be forthcoming, and if so, in which direction?

Speakers

Leo Strine
Leo E. Strine, Jr., is Of Counsel in the Corporate Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the Michael L. Wachter Distinguished Fellow in Law and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the Ira M. Millstein Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. Strine’s reseach interests include, the impact of business on society, on which he wrote many articles which have been published in multiple highly valued journals. On several occasions, his articles were selected as the Best Corporate and securities Articles of the year. Prior to joining WLRK, he was the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.

Joanne Houston
Houston is EU Policy Officer at Frank Bold. She joined the Responsible Companies section in 2019 to work on policy developments in the area of corporate reporting and governance. She is in charge of stakeholder relations and is currently supporting the work of the Alliance for Corporate Transparency, where she contributes to the development of the project’s advocacy strategy. Joanne holds an MA in Economics and German from the University of Glasgow. She completed her studies through a master’s course in Economics and Social Affairs from Ca’ Foscari University and the ILO. Before joining Frank Bold, she worked in the private sector and as a project manager for a non-profit organization, supporting companies to strengthen their sustainability performance through reporting and ESG integration.

Dr. Jeroen Veldman
Jeroen Veldman is Visiting Professor at the Interdisciplinary Institute for Innovation at MINES ParisTech and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Cass Business School. He Leads the Modern Corporation Project, which has been awarded the 2019 International Impactful Collaboration Award by the Academy of Management (AOM). His research interests range from Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to Business Administration (BA) and legal theory. Most recently he published an article on ‘The Potential of the Dutch Corporate Governance Model for Sustainable and Long Term Stakeholder Value’ with Manuel Lokin.