Media Clips

Directorship (Excerpt)

September 1, 2008
Directorship 100
The Most Influential Are...
The Most Influential People on Corporate Governance and in the Boardroom
Making a list of the most influential individuals in any profession is never easy. Making a list of those who influence how boards operate is made even harder by the fact that so many groups hold sway over corporate governance: the directors themselves, shareholders and their advocates, regulators, board advisors, lawyers, and others. But the degree of difficulty has never stopped us from pursuing a worthy objective.
First, a word on our methodology. Starting at last year’s Directorship 100 event, we began accepting nominations for the list. Then, last year’s honorees were asked to nominate their peers for inclusion. A reader survey expanded the list of nominees to more than 400. From there, we sent out ballots to more than 100 individuals to vote in each category. An advisory panel of some 30 distinguished judges ranked the selections. Armed with these scores, our editorial team made the final cut.
In a nod to fierce objectivity, you will find some influentials on the list who occasionally make life less comfortable for board members. And this year, given the economic climate, we put more emphasis on those who influence the board’s strategic and economic agenda, such as regulators, CEOs, and the directors themselves.
THE NETWORKERS
Stephen M. Davis, Yale University’s Millstein Center
As project director and lecturer at the Yale University School of Management’s Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance, Stephen M. Davis is one of the true thinkers in the corporate governance world. Recently he has worked on projects that seek to initiate more communication between corporate boards and shareholders. Davis founded the weekly Global Proxy Watch newsletter, now owned by NewsMarkets, and is a member of the board of EOS, the shareowner engagement arm of Hermes Pensions Management, the U.K.’s largest retirement fund.
THE PROFESSORS
Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, Yale School of Management
Former Harvard Business School professor Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld is now founder and president of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute, a nonprofit educational and research organization focused on CEO leadership and corporate governance. His writings have earned him critical acclaim and have been published in leading academic journals. He has also authored five books, including The Hero’s Farewell, an award-winning study of CEO succession, and he sits on the board of TheStreet.com.
HALL OF FAME
Halls of fame are created for those who leave indelible marks on their professions. Considering our plan to identify the most influential people on the boardroom agenda each year, it stands to reason that there are a select number of exemplary individuals who have so uniquely contributed to the shape of modern corporate governance that they deserve special recognition. Thus, we inaugurate the Directorship Hall of Fame by recognizing the contributions of the following legendary leaders of business.
William H. Donaldson
Among his career highlights, William H. Donaldson was the co-founder of the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, one-time dean of the Yale Business School, and the 27th chairman of the SEC. Donaldson once described his 36-month tenure as “the most consequential and productive period” since the Commission was created in the post-Depression 1930s. It was on his watch that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed and the SEC began to execute and monitor SOX’s implementation and compliance.
Ira Millstein
A juggernaut in corporate governance, the senior partner at the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges is the top lawyer in the field. At 82, Ira Millstein has counseled more than 50 corporate boards. Rather than slow down, Millstein focuses his considerable attention on capital markets in his role as senior associate dean for corporate governance at the Yale School of Management. Yale also named its corporate-governance center after him. “Trying to discern what impacts capital markets fascinates me,” he says.