| Washington, DC, 19 December 2018 – Hogan Lovells, in conjunction with Equilar and Donnelly Financial Solutions, today published theCorporate Governance Outlook 2019.The report features commentary on companies’ approach to governance issues and communications with shareholders through proxy statements and other channels. It also provides a preview of 2019 with respect to shareholder engagement and proposals, the CEO Pay Ratio, Say on Pay, mandatory retirement ages for directors, and other corporate governance trends.Key highlights of the report include:· 58.6% of Equilar 100 disclosed their shareholder engagement policies in 2018, a 24.7% increase from 2017.· 2018 saw the number of Say on Pay failures nearly double, while less than half of Equilar 500 Say on Pay votes met with 95% or greater approval· The median CEO Pay Ratio at Equilar 500 companies was 168 to 1, while the average CEO Pay Ratio was 271 to 1· Over 500 directors in the Equilar 500 are within five years of their respective boards’ mandatory retirement age.Nearly 75% of Equilar 500 companies mentioned or disclosed their shareholder engagement policies in their proxies, representing a continuous uptick since 2014.Hogan Lovells partners Alex Bahn, John Beckman, Alan Dye, Amy Freed, Martha Steinman, and Lillian Tsu contributed to the report. |
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