Recently, Sharon Merrill Associates President Maureen Wolff and I spoke on “Navigating the New Proxy Access Rules” at the NYSE Euronext’s “Building Blocks for Successful Investor Relations” conference. The event attracted great attendance from CEOs, CFOs and investor relations officers – despite some obstacles getting downtown with the Yankees World Series victory parade taking place at the same time about a block away. Some things you just can’t plan for. As a life-long Red Sox devotee, it was rather painful to hear the million-plus Yankees fans lined up on Broadway cheering for A-Rod and company. Wait ‘till next year I guess.
When investor relations practitioners get together these days, we tend to discuss the same general questions, gripes and concerns: When will we see an upturn in the economy? Why can’t we have a better understanding of who owns our stock? Will the Yankees buy another championship next year? What effect are dark pools having? But one topic that should be getting significantly more attention in the IR world is the inevitable change in shareholder proxy access. If two proxy-related proposals from the SEC are implemented, the changes in proxy access will have a profound effect on the boardroom and board/shareholder communication. It’s time to get ready.
