Glass Lewis presents a preview of the upcoming 2017 proxy season for continental Europe. Senior members of the Glass Lewis research team discuss key developments for the 2017 proxy season, including EU directives, company engagement, investor stewardship, board diversity and skills, executive remuneration and non-financial reporting.

Listen to or download the audio file here.

 

You can also read a summary of what to look for in our European Season Preview Briefing here.

SPEAKERS

  • Andrew Gebelin – Senior Director of European Research
  • Sinéad Barry – Research Manager, Central Europe
  • Patrick Fiorani – Lead Analyst, France
  • Patricia O’Donoghue – Research Manager, Southern Europe

SHOW NOTES

  • Steady progress on governance initiatives in the EU. (0:50)
  • How boards are evolving in Europe. (4:00)
  • German gender quotas and targets: are they working? (4:30)
  • Switzerland lags in board gender diversity, but may be catching up. (6:40)
  • Dutch companies fail to meet diversity targets. (7:32)
  • France charges ahead on diversity, including executive pipelines. (8:10)
  • Progress on diversity is picking up in Spain. (9:59)
  • How companies are assessing board profiles and skills. (11:25)
  • Dutch companies detail supervisory board profiles well. (12:30)
  • Italian companies merge internal board evaluations with disclosure. (13:20)
  • The voto di lista provides proxy access in Italy, with a twist. (14:30)
  • The lead director becomes independent in France. (16:33)
  • Say on pay is still the center of attention. (17:37)
  • France mandates formidable binding pay votes. (18:05)
  • Swiss pay amounts under scrutiny. (19:59)
  • French shareholders not likely to be shy in voicing opposition to high pay. (22:18)
  • New say on pay requirements in the Shareholder Rights Directive. (23:30)
  • German and Dutch companies focus on pay policy amendments. (24:45)
  • A few high-profile meetings in Europe with regard to pay. (26:48)
  • Turning our attention to non-financial reporting. (30:00)
  • Who is leading the way on non-financial reporting? The Dutch? Italians? The French? (31:59)
  • Engagement and stewardship. (37:01)
  • The Dutch and German Corporate Governance Codes focus on engagement. (38:00)
  • An update on Italian shareholder stewardship efforts. (41:04)
  • Surveying French shareholders on stewardship. (42:49)
  • Glass Lewis presents 2017 policy updates. (44:43)

Produced by: Martin Mortell

QUESTIONS?
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