Richard Blake: 2024 Silicon Valley 150 Corporate Governance Report

Dec 23, 2024

01:01:32

(0:00) Intro.

(2:09) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.

(2:56) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episode with Richard (E126 from Feb 2024).

(9:04) On Virtual (Stockholder) Meetings (89% of SV150).

(11:23) Board Committee Structures. Audit, Comp, NomGov, and Others.

(14:02) On SV150's approach to ESG, impact of new SEC.

(18:53) On the evolution of boardroom diversity, impact of CA laws and Nasdaq Diversity Rule.

(21:40) Why private ordering will become more important in corporate governance.

(22:28) On dual or multi class share structures (-30% of SV150, and of those, 91% have sunset provisions).

(25:25) On ServiceTitan's compounding IPO ratchet (reference to my article about it). "Governance is a spectrum"

(31:29) On evolution of shareholder proposals in SV150. *Reference to E15 with Jim McRitchie.

(36:30) On shareholder activism (7.4%) in SV150.

(41:41) On the clawback policies of SV150 companies

(48:27) On the backlash to Delaware incorporations and SV moving out of CA. Reference to WSGR's DE's Status as the Favored Corporate Home.

(51:49) Biggest winner in business in 2024

(53:27) Biggest loser in business in 2024

(54:27) Biggest business surprise in 2024

(56:53) Best and worst corporate governance trend from 2024

(58:28) What’s the biggest corporate governance trend to watch out for in 2025

Richard Blake is a partner at Wilson Sonsini and the leader of the firm's public companies’ practice.

You can follow Evan on social media at:

To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.