CGPro Network
Anne-Marie Clarke
Head of Corporate Governance
We were delighted to share our findings from the 2022 AGM season so far in our recent mid-season review. Since then, we hope everyone has been able to enjoy the long hot summer we have experienced. And speaking of hot summers, the topic of climate change continues to be ever present in the news and all around us. Change also occurred here in the UK when we entered September with the sad news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the proclamation of Charles III as the King. After such a long reign, this change in leadership will inevitably be felt by all. Perhaps we can observe and reflect on how this has been achieved and how we approach making changes in our personal and professional lives. But now we’d like to focus on you, the CGPro Network. How has 2022 been for you so far?
In This Edition
Thought For September
“To promote an inspiring network and support system for corporate governance professionals. The network encourages open discussion, debate and critical thinking on topical issues. It provides a diverse and inclusive environment for voicing opinions and ideas, towards enriching collective knowledge in corporate governance, stewardship and ESG.”
- CGPro Network Mission Statement
How was 2022 for you? Let us know in our survey
We want to hand over to you, the CGPro Network and our readers! We’d like to hear how 2022 has been for you, and we’ll then share those insights. To do that, we’d like to ask you to complete a survey that will take no longer than 2 minutes. We would encourage as many of our readers and CGPro Network members to participate in completing the survey, and this will ensure that the results and findings will benefit the whole network. The resultant insights will be valuable, so we will publish the results irrespective of whether we receive 1,000 responses or just 1 (yes – you really are part of a distribution list and network of over 1,000 people!). Every view counts, and we’ll let you know the numbers who responded.
As a thank you for completing the survey, one lucky respondent will receive a £100 M&S voucher!
To access the survey, please click here.
The survey will close on 7th October 2022.
Never a dull moment!
Taking a few moments, let’s unpack some of the exciting things we’ve experienced this year; would it surprise you if we were to say that we’ve seen quite some movement within the Company Secretarial community? People moves are important to us. Building relationships is vital; from one AGM season to the next, we notice the changes. We hope those who have changed roles have found an excellent next step for your career progression.
Another area we observed is a slowdown in M&A activity…or so we thought. Still, the summer has been busy for us here, with General Meetings, Schemes of Arrangement, and some capital raising.
A move back into in-person events has also taken place. The annual CGI conference took place in July; this is an important event for not only corporate governance professionals, but all those stakeholders involved in supporting Boards and corporate governance. It was great to catch up with friends and past colleagues and meet those we’ve only seen through a computer screen! And importantly, hear from others on crucial topics of interest to us all.
What’s next on the agenda
For the Corporate Governance team here, what are we busy with besides supporting our clients? We’re expanding our team, so we hope to introduce you to some new team members soon. We are also progressing our work with our sister brands, Prism, the company secretarial services side of EQ’s advisory business, and RD: IR, which focuses on investor relations services.
In October, we’ll be coming back to you with Part 2 of our Mid-season review, where we’ll be looking in depth at investor rationale to voting behaviour in 2022. We’ll also be playing our role in the annual EQ Conference 2022.
November sees us looking forward to the CGI annual awards ceremony, and we hope to see many of you there as guests, attendees and on the shortlists for the awards - Good luck to those nominated! We’ll also be providing an update on the survey responses – and hopefully sharing some good insights and perhaps some guest appearances from the CGPro Network in our update!
And December – well, that’s a good few months away, and we know that many things can, and will happen, so watch this space! We’ll no doubt be updating you on a current topic of interest and perhaps reflecting a little on what 2022 has been like. And, of course, we will be preparing for the year-end, avidly digesting new proxy advisor policies and understanding investor expectations.
2023 may seem a few months away, but as with you, we’ve also been planning for the New Year, where we will see a rebranding of our monthly updates and planning for our March CGPro Network event!
Round up
We’re looking forward to the results of the CGPro Network survey. Let us know, through the survey, what you’d like to hear more about, or whether you’d be interested in taking a more active role in our events or a future monthly update.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you want to understand more about the CGPro Network or require support and advice on any ESG topic. And if you would like to receive our regular updates directly into your inbox, please email info@boudiccaproxy.com.
To access the Governance Update Series, please visit here: Link
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