During the last three months, the Governance Center released four pieces of research that cover CEO and executive compensation practices, CEO succession practices, the Delaware bench and bar perspectives on the job description of a corporate director, and an analysis of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.

This research is available to all members of The Conference Board and its Governance Center.

CEO and Executive Compensation Practices 2018 Edition (October 2018)

This annual publication documents trends in senior management compensation. It benchmarks individual elements of compensation packages and the features of short-term and long-term incentive plans (STIs and LTIs), provides details on shareholder advisory votes on executive compensation (say-on-pay), and outlines practices on board oversight of compensation design.

Here are some highlights:

• Contrary to popular belief, CEO pay at larger companies is stable or even declining, while smaller firms are playing catch-up with double-digit raises for their chief executives.
• The number of shareholder-sponsored proposals on executive compensation put to a vote at 2017 AGMs has declined sharply from prior years, in a sign that shareholders are more satisfied with company practices and the increased engagement with directors.

CEO Succession Practices: 2018 Edition (October 2018) 

This annual publication documents and analyzes CEO succession events of S&P 500 companies (54 in 2017), updating a historical database first introduced by The Conference Board in 2001. This edition highlights the effects that the record bull market following the 2008 Great Recession has had on CEO tenure and age.

Here are some highlights:

• In 2017, departing CEO tenure was the highest recorded since 2002, at nearly 11 years, and the average age of a sitting S&P 500 CEO was 58.3 years.
• Findings on CEO tenure foreshadow a wave of leadership changes at large public companies, as the percentage of S&P 500 CEOs who reached retirement age in 2017 was also the highest on record.
• Amid shifting consumer demand and the steady decline of the department store model, the retail and wholesale trade sector had the highest rate of CEO succession.

Just What Is the Corporate Director's Job? Delaware Bench and Bar Perspectives on the Board Member's Job Description (September 2018)

The latest installment of the Just What Is the Corporate Director's Job? series presents the perspective of the Delaware bench and bar from a roundtable held at The University of Delaware in Newark, DE, on March 28, 2018.

Here are some highlights:

• The relationship between the board and management has changed so much that regulators can’t even keep up. In some cases, boards have gone as far as hiring their own counsel and staff to ensure their communication with management goes smoothly.
• Directors tend to be more risk-averse in the absence of clear guidance from the courts. This tendency has led to a question about who is responsible for risk management – the board or the C-Suite.

Sustainability Matters – TCFD: It Can Be Done (August 2018)

The latest in this new series of publications on sustainability analyzes the adherence of oil and gas companies to recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Here are some highlights:

• In general, reporting for 2016 was uneven, with some TCFD categories fairly well covered and others not. There was variation across companies, with most making fairly modest disclosures but some being fairly progressive in this regard.
• Most of the disclosures were in voluntary sustainability reports, not the financial filings required by statute and as recommended by the TCFD.