Across the Board
Your AI Strategy May Be Exhibit A
As AI moves deeper into corporate strategy, companies may be discovering that the real risk is whether leadership can explain it
“Lawrence Fine, management liability coverage leader at WTW, spent years advising companies and insurers on directors and officers liability issues before artificial intelligence became a boardroom priority…. As AI moves deeper into corporate operations and investor messaging, he said companies are confronting a familiar pattern of litigation and regulatory risk wrapped around an unfamiliar technology…. Fine said the core exposures tied to AI resemble waves of securities and governance litigation…. AI has introduced practical complications for corporate defendants because directors and officers frequently struggle to explain how the technology operates or why problems occur. ‘The disclosure risk is distinct from the substantive risk of what you’re doing with AI.’” INSURANCE BUSINESS
This Isn’t Very Zen
Chip Wilson’s escalating clash with Lululemon directors is turning into a test of board
independence and founder influence
“Lululemon Athletica is urging its shareholders to vote against the slate of directors nominated by founder Chip Wilson, saying he has outdated perspectives on how to position the athletic-apparel retailer for the future. Lululemon’s push came after Wilson earlier this month escalated his proxy fight against the company, outlining a series of pillars he said its board has neglected…. Lululemon on Monday said Wilson’s latest salvo is damaging to the brand and harmful to the stakeholders he claims to represent. Wilson pushed back against the characterization…. ‘The Board has not provided me with detail on where our disagreements lie right now…’ The company urged shareholders to vote for the board members it has up for election…calling them ‘vastly superior to Wilson’s nominees.’ WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Glass Ceiling is Under Renovation
Women’s board representation is slipping backward as companies quietly scale back diversity commitments
“Women’s representation on U.S. corporate boards of directors crossed 30% for the first time in 2024. But two years later, amid an anti-DEI wave, that progress has reversed. In the first quarter of 2026, women’s board representation fell under 30% for the first time since achieving that milestone. Companies that had female CEOs had boards on which women held 41% of seats – much higher than the 29.9% overall stat. If a company had women as CEO and board chair and with additional board leadership roles, that stat rose even higher to 46.7%. Another stat that confirms: female CEOs drive impact, through the biggest challenges, for their business results and more.” FORTUNE
Getting on Board with Getting on More Boards
Women may be earning elite leadership roles, but the influence attached to them remains unevenly distributed
“During the past two decades, many organizations have made meaningful progress in increasing gender diversity on their boards. For example, women now hold a substantial share of board seats for companies in the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100…. The more prominent and influential the organization you're a part of, the more opportunities you receive. Our research…shows that, on average, women who reach these elite positions are indeed more likely than men to be appointed to additional boards. At first glance that would seem to be a success story: Once women break into the upper echelons, opportunities follow. However, not all board positions are equal. As firm prominence increases, men’s likelihood of securing additional board appointments increases, whereas for women it decreases instead. That finding points to a broader issue that high-achieving women face: Getting into top roles is not the same as benefiting from them.” HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW
Activist Interest in What’s Under the Microscope
Elliott Investment Management’s stake in Bio-Rad is the latest sign that investors are losing patience with sluggish performance
“Activist Elliot Investment Management has built a sizable stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories and plans to push the supplier of life-science tools and diagnostics products to boost its underperforming stock price…. Elliot is also a large investor in Sartorious, the German supplier of pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment that Bio-Rad has a strategic investment in.... Restructuring at some of the biggest pharmaceutical companies following the pandemic has challenged the industry for life-science tools and diagnostic products. Bio-Rad’s peers…have spent tens of billions on acquisitions in recent years, while private-equity firms have also been more active.” WALL STREET JOURNAL
Tech’s Messiest Custody Battle
Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI highlights an ongoing fight over governance and the company’s shift to a for-profit model
“A California jury has tossed out Elon Musk’s high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI and its boss Sam Altman. In a unanimous verdict, the jury agreed that Musk had waited too long to file his lawsuit, leaving all his claims essentially expired. Musk had accused Altman of breaching a non-profit contract by ChatGPT-maker to a for-profit company after Musk donated $38M early in OpenAI’s history. Musk had accused Microsoft of aiding and abetting OpenAI in its alleged improper transition to a more for-profit company…. Musk criticized the decisions against him in the OpenAI case…. He also accused the judge of overseeing the case of being a ‘terrible activist’ who used the jury ‘as a fig leaf.’ As the jury found that the statute of limitations…had lapsed for Musk’s claims…the jury was not required to consider the merits of his claims.” BBC
Who’s Looking Out for the Humans?
As AI reshapes the workforce, California is exploring how to protect workers before disruption outpaces policy
“California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at exploring policy ideas to address the disruption caused by AI in the labor market. The order directs state agencies to work with academic institutions, labor experts, economists, universities, and industry leaders to gather data and develop new labor policies to help workers as AI increasingly eliminates jobs. Broadly speaking, the order calls for greater support for worker retraining initiatives, the development of early warning signals for potential labor disruptions and the exploration of ways for workers to share in the wealth created by the increased productivity brought about by AI.” YAHOO FINANCE
The SEC’s Spring Cleaning Has Begun
The regulator is proposing sweeping reforms aimed at making public markets easier to navigate
“The SEC has proposed a broad set of rule changes aimed at simplifying how public companies meet ongoing reporting requirements. The proposals form part of a wider effort to reduce compliance costs while ensuring investor protections…and seek to streamline capital-raising in public markets and tailor disclosure obligations to a company’s size and stage of development. The SEC said this is a part of a broader push to encourage more companies to list and remain public….It would allow many more companies, regardless of public float, to use shelf registrations for quicker access to capital; extend certain communications and registration flexibilities beyond ‘well-known seasoned issuers’; and enable broker-dealers to public research on a wider group of companies.” YAHOO FINANCE
Inside SpaceX’s Tight Orbit
SpaceX has eight directors with CEO Elon Musk as chairman of the board
“The other directors include longtime SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, Google executive Donald Harrison, as well as investors Antonio Gracias, Steve Jurvetson and Luke Nosek. Randy Glein, a longtime board observer, joined the board in February, as did Ira Ehrenpreis, a longtime Tesla board member." WALL STREET JOURNAL
