Across the Board
Announced Job Cuts Surge in March on Doge Hit
More than half of the job cuts were in Washington D.C., reflecting the federal government layoffs
“Layoffs announced by U.S. employers surged in March to the highest level since the pandemic recession as the government purged federal workers and contractors to slash spending. Global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday that planned job cuts increased 60% to 275,240 last month, the highest level since May 2020, when the economy was reeling from the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the third-highest monthly total on record. About 497,052 layoffs were announced in the first three months of the year, the highest since the first quarter of 2009, when the economy was at the tail end of the Great Recession.” REUTERS
BlackRock's Larry Fink Treads Cautiously in Annual Letter
This year, as fierce backlash has grown, the firm joined many others in walking back its DEI policies
“BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reassures investors that this moment of economic anxiety will pass in his annual letter… This year it comes at a time of high market uncertainty, as tariff disruptions rock the business world… Fink treads cautiously in the 27-page letter, never explicitly mentioning President Trump, and only touches glancingly on politics at the very top… This year, as fierce backlash has grown, the firm joined many others in walking back its DEI policies... Instead of a traditional 60/40 split between stocks and bonds, Fink wants investors to diversify into these private market assets, a mix he calls 50/30/20 (stocks, bonds, private assets like infrastructure and real estate).” AXIOS
Navigating 11th Hour Guidance on Board DE&I
Over the past few weeks, the landscape of board diversity, equity, and inclusion has been in a state of flux, driven by evolving expectations from proxy advisors and institutional investors
“The pursuit of board diversity has been an evolving, complex, and dynamic endeavor, influenced by myriad factors including proxy advisors’ guidelines, institutional investors’ expectations, recent Executive Orders and evolving positions of the Department of Justice, and legal actions. While legal compliance is paramount, boards should continue to ask questions as to the most effective composition of their boards for the future. They should also be carefully reviewing disclosure around the level of detail provided with respect to board diversity. These actions should be carefully considered on a strategic level regardless of proxy advisor and institutional investor guidance.” HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FORUM ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Zuckerberg Lobbies Trump to Avoid Meta Antitrust Trial
The FTC and 46 states sued what was then called Facebook in December 2020, in the final weeks of the Trump administration, accusing the social-media giant of buying and freezing out small startups to choke competition
“Meta and its representatives have met with the president and his senior advisers ahead of an April 14 Federal Trade Commission trial that could force the company to unwind its acquisition of the messaging platform WhatsApp and image-sharing app Instagram. The terms of a potential settlement weren’t immediately clear... Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, was at the White House on Wednesday, his third visit during Trump’s presidency. Some of Trump’s aides have grown frustrated at the company’s lobbying strategy, believing it has been too aggressive... Trump hasn’t yet decided whether the administration will settle with the company over accusations that it bought Instagram and WhatsApp to quash its competition.” WALL STREET JOURNAL
How the Best Boards Engage with Management
Boards today face a thorny challenge: how to provide proper oversight of management while allowing it the autonomy it needs to be effective
“Boards engage with management using a variety of approaches along a spectrum, ranging from entirely hands-off to strong control. A key success factor for each of the modes is who holds the information central to a negotiation, strategy decision, or other interaction: management or the board. Passive mode. This mode allows management near-total discretion in decision-making… Mentor mode. Boards using this mode allow management substantial authority on decisions, but they participate in the discussion of various options early on… Partner mode. Partner boards also allocate more time in meetings to discussion than to management presentations.” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
2025 AI in Focus: Boards and Shareholders Set Their Sights on AI
The percentage of companies providing some disclosure of board oversight increased by more than 84% year over year and more than 150% since 2022
“Scrutiny of AI is expected to intensify further in 2025, due to increasing urgency around issues including the balance between transparency, responsibility, and return on investment... The experience and knowledge of board members is the primary indication of preparedness to assess and manage AI-related risks and opportunities. Among S&P 500 companies, 20% have at least one director with AI expertise on the board, compared to just under 14% disclosing explicit board or committee oversight of AI and 2% with an established AI ethics board.” HARVARD LAW SCHOOL FORUM ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Ensure a Structured Approach to AI Innovation
Once the optimal use cases are identified for AI initiatives, boards should focus on selecting the right applied technology to perform the tasks
“The time for boards to gently dip their toes into the AI waters has long passed. As important as a firm’s general grounding is, directors need to pivot to setting clear objectives, creating an AI ethics and governance framework, and establishing guardrails to ensure the organization’s AI adoption aligns with its legal, compliance and strategic directives.” GRANT THORNTON
Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Calls on Unilever to ‘Set Us Free’
Ben Cohen launches long-shot bid to buy back ice cream brand he created with Jerry Greenfield in 1978
“The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s is trying to line up like-minded investors to buy the brand from Unilever as the European consumer giant prepares to spin off its ice cream assets. Either outcome—an IPO of all of Unilever’s ice cream brands, or a sale of Ben & Jerry’s on its own—would bring to an end one of the corporate world’s most acrimonious relationships… Much of the tension stems from the unusual acquisition agreement Unilever struck with Ben & Jerry’s in 2000… Unilever offered to structure a deal that allowed Ben & Jerry’s to have an independent board that retained decision-making about its social mission and marketing. Under the deal, Ben & Jerry’s owner can’t fire its independent board.” WALL STREET JOURNAL
Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs Announces Plans to Retire in 2026
Under Gibbs, the company added more than 10,000 restaurants and grew sales by $13 billion
“Yum’s board has established a succession planning committee and will search for a replacement for Gibbs… The company recently announced an integrated tech ecosystem, Byte, meant to consolidate disparate digital solutions into one platform. Following that, Yum announced a deal with Nvidia, a computer chipmaker and artificial intelligence developer, to deploy AI tools like back-of-house surveillance and drive-thru and call center voice AI across hundreds of restaurants. Gibbs’ successor will take over one of the most dynamic and rapidly growing conglomerates in the restaurant industry.” RESTAURANT DRIVE
Intel Announces Three Board Members Will Retire Following CEO Shake-Up
The latest move will shrink the size of the board to 11
“Three Intel board members will not stand for reelection at its 2025 annual meeting, the chipmaker said in a regulatory filing on Thursday, amid a historic transition under newly appointed CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Since late last year, the company has been reshuffling its board to make it more chip industry focused as it attempts to reclaim its lost glory under new leadership… The changes mark a departure from Intel's previous board structure, which was populated by leaders in academia and finance, as well as former senior executives from the medical, tech and aerospace industries… Tan, who in August left Intel's board due to disagreements over the company's revival plan, rejoined as a director along with his appointment as CEO.” REUTERS
WeightWatchers Investor Launches Fight for Board Seats
Company’s stock has fallen with competition intensifying from telehealth providers of GLP-1 drugs
“Premca Capital, an investment fund, has nominated three directors for election to WW International’s board... The firm, which has a less than 1% stake in WW International, has been in talks with the company since November... WeightWatchers has lost key executives, with its chief executive and chief financial officer leaving the company in the past year. Oprah Winfrey, the longtime face of the company, also stepped down from the board early last year and donated her shares.” WALL STREET JOURNAL
Autodesk vs. Starboard: A Proxy Fight with Lessons for Every Boardroom
As Starboard Value renews its push for board seats, the high-stakes dispute highlights how activist pressure, performance perceptions, and investor alignment can shape corporate governance battles
“For the second time in 12 months, activist investor Starboard Value is challenging Autodesk for board seats. This comes after Autodesk resisted Starboard’s attempt to force changes on the board last year, and after the software-design maker appeared to make conciliatory changes to the board by adding two independent directors in December. Apparently, that move wasn’t enough, so Starboard has nominated three director candidates, including its CEO Jeff Smith, for Autodesk’s 13-member board in time for the company’s annual meeting… Starboard contends that Autodesk is underperforming its peers in the market and needs to implement more cost cutting measures. For its part, Autodesk says that the strategy in place is working, and it has already made changes to the board that should help.” CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER
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