Watching the Watchers Corporate Goverance for the 21st Century

No aspect of business or finance has changed more dramatically over the past decade than corporate governance. Until recently it has been unthinkable for a shareholder resolution to be sponsored by an institutional investor, or for a resolution sponsored by an individual investor to get more than 3 per cent of the vote. Suddenly institutional investors are submitting dozens of shareholder resolutions, all with substantial support. Astonishingly, shareholders have been reponsible for the departures of CEOs from the giants of Corporate America - General Motors, weestinghouse, IBM and Kodak.

Robert A. G. Monks and Nell Minow have been at the forefront of shareholders' activism for years, leading shareholder initiatives at companies like Sears, Westinghouse, Kodak, and Borden. They are currently principals in Lens, Inc., a Washington, D.C. investment fund that actively exerts its shareholder right to push for better performance.