With the close of the 2024 proxy season, we clearly saw another very active year at US annual shareholder meetings. From high-profile proxy contests to discourse on compensation and the corporate form to the high volume of shareholder proposals, the trends observed have built on themes that started emerging in the 2023 season.
Management teams and boards preparing for engagement and 2025 annual meetings will want to consider the latest developments in corporate governance that are outlined in this report.
In this report:
- How shareholder proposal volume set a new record, surpassing last years volume
- Why support for governance proposals drastically increased, whereas social and environmental support remained flat
- If the 2023 anti-ESG proposal increase was an aberration or a new reality for issuers
- What new and novel ESG proposals will likely be a focus for engagement in the offseason
- To what extent activists are successfully using UPC to gain more seats