Thought Capital

The 2023 edition of our Director Pulse Survey captures prevailing sentiment on corporate performance, board priorities, expected 2023 incentive payouts and action, ESG in compensation, human capital challenges, and board effectiveness. 

With year-end decisions approaching,  Compensation Committees may find themselves contemplating discretionary adjustments to their companies’ incentive outcomes. In the absence of a “one-size-fits-all” solution, this insightful article empowers directors with a strategic framework to navigate this challenging process.

ISS and Glass Lewis have released their policy guideline changes for 2024, including new perspectives on executive share ownership guidelines and clawback policies. Check out our summary of the updates on compensation and governance-related topics for the Canadian market.

Boards across Canada understand that organizational culture is a key role in driving performance. As a result, culture is appearing more frequently on-board agendas. However, many boards are grappling with how to truly understand culture, how to oversee it from the boardroom, and how to incentivize culture change that drives performance

Shareholders expect Board’s to self-reflect, take actions for improvement, and report transparently on their governance practices. The largest companies, perhaps subject to heightened scrutiny, are at the forefront of adopting and exemplifying these practices. Yet, the evolution in Board Effectiveness practices should not solely be motivated by shareholder expectations; rather, it should stem from the intrinsic motivation of Boards to excel and enhance the value they provide. 

In today's fast-paced business world, a well-defined Compensation Philosophy is the cornerstone of any successful talent management program.

As part of our annual review of the 2023 TSX60 issuer proxy circulars, we have analyzed the shareholder proposals submitted to these issuers to better understand how shareholder expectations / concerns have evolved over the years.

Board evaluations are not evaluations at all, or at least they shouldn’t feel like one.

Every year, Hugessen Consulting conducts a review of the proxy circulars filed by the constituents of the S&P / TSX60 Index to report on trends in executive compensation and related governance practices among Canada’s largest and most influential companies. This article summarizes our findings related to ESG metrics in these companies’ executive compensation programs in respect of fiscal 2022.

Part 5 of our series outlined how to effectively weigh considerations when determining the importance of metrics in incentive programs This article focuses on the key considerations for calibrating and setting targets when incorporating ESG metrics into incentive plans.