The impact of ESG activism on voting at AGMs
Our panel of experts discussed the current investor priorities, their expectations on ESG, and how they might use their voting power at AGMs to hold companies accountable
Description
Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) are key issues on many boards agendas. Their complexity and diversity are accelerating with increased shareholder scrutiny of businesses' impact on climate change and society more widely. It is therefore more important than ever that boards establish and own business purpose and putting it into practice aligned with changing stakeholders' expectations. Asset managers are now under increasing pressure from their clients and other stakeholders to hold Board and management of companies with questionable ESG practices accountable and they are likely to use their voting power to punish bad practices. Are you and your board prepared?
Join our panel of experts who will discuss the current investor priorities, their expectations on ESG, and how they might use their voting power at AGMs to hold companies accountable.
Speakers
The webinar, sponsored by IHS Markit, was hosted by Peter Swabey, Policy & Research Director, The Chartered Governance Institute.
He was joined by:
- Dr Christine Chow, Global Head of Strategic Governance Advisory, IHS Markit
- Andrew Gebelin, Vice President of Research, Engagement and Stewardship, Glass Lewis & Co.
- Sara Thomson, Deputy Company Secretary, Tesco plc
Peter is the Policy & Research Director at The Chartered Governance Institute. He is responsible for developing the Institute’s profile to members, regulators, policymakers, employers and other stakeholders by delivering thought leadership and lobbying campaigns aligned to the Institute’s strategy and promoting strong governance as the vital ingredient for success in organisations.
Dr Christine Chow is the newly appointed Global Head of Strategic Governance Advisory at IHS Markit. She was previously Director at EOS of Federated Hermes International (FHI:NYSE) with 24 years of experience in investment management. EOS has stewardship assets of US$1.2 trillion (as of 30 September 2020). Her PhD thesis on responsible investment was short-listed for a United Nations award in Sweden for industry relevance and academic excellence. She is a Member of Court and Investment Committee of the London School of Economics (LSE), a Board Member of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) and a member in the Data Governance Task Force of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Artificial Intelligence. She was named as one of the top 30 Inspirational Women in the City of London. In 2020, she was the winner of the Investment Management Leader of the Year (Asia) for the Women in Finance award.
Christine is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Melbourne. She completed an executive education course on financial engineering at Stanford University. She was an Adjunct Professor in Finance at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (2014–2016).
Andrew Gebelin leads Glass Lewis’ largest research organisation based in Limerick, Ireland. The team is made up of over 100 members of staff and cover environmental, social and (corporate) governance issues at approximately 4,000 corporate issuers in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Andrew is also the primary owner of Glass Lewis’ institutional investor and company engagement activities across the region.
He joined his organisation in 2006 and initially worked as an analyst, covering dozens of markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, before going on to build and manage research teams in the United States and Europe.
Sara has substantial experience of operating in a listed environment and has led on the company secretarial aspects of many corporate transactions at Tesco which have required consultation with the investor population. Sara has worked as a company secretary for more than 17 years during which time she has held senior positions at Lloyds Banking Group plc and Clyde & Co LLP.
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