Shareholders will accept no less. Ask Gil Amelio at Apple or Michael Eisner at Disney. Mr. Amelio was fired on July 9th. As more companies compensate directors in stock, boards are more closely linking company performance with their compensation and that of shareholders. This area is a mirror image of stock compensation and shareholding expectations for board members.
Strategic deliberation is a board responsibility .
In a recent Conference Board research report on the board's role in strategic assessment, most CEOs agree that thorough board discussion of the environmental factors that shape business prospects adds value to the company's review of its strategic options. As a group, managers of these funds believe they have a not only a fiduciary obligation to ensure a reasonable ROI for plan participants, but a legal one to monitor performance as well. We mention CalPERS because they among funds have best mastered the art of media management. Their fund managers visit some 60 companies a year. The idea is to better align directors' interests with those of investors.