Shareholder passivity, executive compensation and the role of the media emerged as the topics to watch in the IBA session ‘Shareholder activism: how shareholders drive change and how boards and advisers respond’ on Wednesday November 2.
Shareholder activism over the first nine months of 2011 was up 90% from the same period last year, putting the issue firmly back on corporates’ agendas. The panel of corporate partners from around the world compared and contrasted how the pick-up has manifested itself in their jurisdictions, and the changes urged by market players.
Ironically, institutional shareholders’ inactivity has attracted much attention.
“The counter to shareholder activism is shareholder passivity. In Switzerland this has been as important over the last couple of years as shareholder activism,” said panelist Dieter Gericke from Homburger...