October 2022
Event Details
DATE
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
TIME
12:45 p.m.–1:45 p.m.
LOCATION
W302
Publicly traded companies are overseen by a board of directors and managed by a C-suite of executives on behalf of millions of shareholders, including individual investors, public pension funds, large institutional investors, and hedge funds. Even with this governance structure in place, shareholder activists frequently engage with companies and can submit their own proposals on how a company should address business strategy, the environment, and diversity, among many other issues.
When this engagement fails, shareholder activists may nominate directors to run in opposition to incumbent directors they believe are problematic and launch a proxy contest where activists must demonstrate why board change is warranted.
Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman, a partner in the Activist & Equity Investment Practice and Head of ESG Activist Investing at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP, will give an overview of shareholder activism, describe why shareholders may engage in activism along with the strategies they use, talk about her own work in the ESG activist space, and discuss regulatory changes that could effect shareholder activism.