2018 Benchmarks on Board-Shareholder Engagement

In brief: Over the past few years we’ve witnessed a number of sea changes in the area of board-shareholder engage­ment. Many boards now directly communicate with major investors, and companies have transformed their proxy statements from boilerplate, legalistic documents into essential vehicles for communicating the board’s gover­nance practices. This brief report highlights select findings about the current state of board-shareholder communications, drawn from NACD’s most recent 2018 public company governance survey data.

This resource can help your board answer these key questions:

• What major issues are boards discussing with investors?
• Which representatives from the board usually meet with investors?
• How are companies enhancing their proxy statements to increase transparency about board practices?

Most relevant audiences:  board chairs, compensation committee chairs, general counsel, and investor-relations officers.