THE RISE OF ACTIVIST CORPORATIONS - How activism agendas subsumed shareholder primacy

This is why shareholders in 7 the firm are deemed to be the ‘principals’ and the CEO and management the ‘agents’ who act on behalf of the principals. [...] The main reason companies barely recognise the rights of shareholders and thus embark on corporate activism, which is entirely antithetical to the interests of shareholders, is because regulators — and, in particular, stock exchanges — have helped to deprive shareholders of appropriate representation in the boardroom. [...] According to the ASX (2019, p.15), the justification is: “Having a majority of independent directors makes it harder for any individual or small group of individuals to dominate the board’s decision-making and maximises the likelihood that the decisions of the board will reflect the best interests of the entity as a whole…” No mention is made as to the ability of these part-time appointees for who. [...] The findings of this CIS study strongly support the thrust of the findings in this paper: woke actions and pronouncements stem from the CEO and top company management and generally have little to do with the views 20 of employees (Disney being an exception), suppliers, or customers. [...] The manipulated absence of a strong shareholder voice in the boardroom gives the CEO both the resources and the ability to foster and promote his own personal views entirely at the expense of shareholders and often those views are loathed by embarrassed staff and fed-up customers, who fight back.