Welcome back! Hope your new year is off to a great start.
Following the attack on Capitol Hill last week, corporate political donations to candidates have come under increased scrutiny, with many companies announcing that they are pausing or reassessing the use of their political action committees (PACs). The New York Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin opined that companies should halt political donations altogether, citing IBM’s long history of refraining from directly donating to candidates. Bruce Freed, the president of the Center for Political Accountability, said that recent events should spark an “epiphany moment” for business leaders and cause them to re-evaluate how they “engage with the political process” moving forward.
In other news, Lazard published its annual review of shareholder activism. The report found that although activism was down in 2020, activity increased 200% from the prior quarter, with 30 campaigns in the U.S. – a signal that things could return to form in 2021. Board seats and M&A continued to dominate activist demands, with increased calls for greater diversity and sustainability reporting.
Intel’s chief executive, Bob Swan stepped down this week following calls from activist Third Point LLC for leadership changes amidst sustained share losses and strategic miscues. Bloomberg Opinion’s Tae Kim argues that VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger may be the answer to Intel’s woes. Gelsinger’s technological expertise is exactly what Intel needs, Kim said, given the company’s failure to enhance its chip making capabilities while lagging behind its peers.
Have a great weekend,
Joel