Resource Library Articles

Vote results between the two indices have diverged due to a fractured governance landscape and differentiated expectations for “good” governance at large- and small-cap companies.

While there is building momentum to adopt ESG related incentive metrics, it is important to consider the company’s specific business and talent requirements before doing so.

Human capital management (HCM) disclosure is evolving rapidly, and the proxy is quickly becoming the most prominent area for boards to tell their HCM story.

Nearly 30 percent of companies in the S&P 500 used a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) metric in executive incentive design last year, and a quarter of these businesses did so for the first time, although metrics focus on representation only, easily achieved goals disconnect from long-term aspirations, and metric definitions are not stress tested.

With volatility and rising interest rates, will some performance-based equity awards be worth the greater cost?

Boards are now broadening their oversight to capitalize on the criticality of more diverse, equitable and inclusive organizations—and strong organizational culture.

When the market faces changes, many boards start considering adjustments to their long-term compensation programs - but sticking to the existing program generally creates more wealth for executives.

Third article of a three-part series focused on how companies can implement the foundational steps of board-level ESG oversight.

The Great Resignation has put retention on the agenda of many boards. Rather than simply reacting — prioritizing pay raises or special packages to stay competitive  — directors can engage management toward a proactive approach.

This proxy season will revert toward the pre-pandemic focus on financial metrics and conventional pay-for-performance structures.

Within the tenure of the current executive team, certain actions can be incentivized so that individual leaders do their part to keep the organization on track.

In these times of volatile national and global markets, caused by Covid and more recently by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, companies have tried to delay goal setting while waiting for more certainty. However, these efforts are often futile as the year wears on and certainty continues to be in the future. 

Ceres and the Semler Brossy have teamed up to provide guidance to companies that have begun to integrate ESG issues into their corporate strategies and may be considering ESG in incentives.