Boards and Shareholders in European Listed Companies

Supported by Emittenti Titoli

Speakers

• David Jackson, Company Secretary, BP p.l.c. [Keynote]
• Jörgen Holmquist, Chairman, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
• Guido Ferrarini, Professor of Business Law and Capital Markets Law, University of Genoa, Editor of the Book
• Ugo Bassi, Director, Capital and Companies, DG MARKT, European Commission
• Edmond Alphandéry, Chairman of the CEPS Board
• Stefano Micossi, Director General, Assonime and Member of the CEPS Board [Moderator]

This seminar will discuss perspectives of corporate governance reform in Europe. It will focus on a volume edited by Guido Ferrarini and Massimo Belcredi on Boards and Shareholders in European Listed Companies, a collection of policy and empirical papers which was published by Cambridge University Press in December 2013.

About the book:

With contributions by distinguished scholars from legal and financial backgrounds, this collection of essays analyses four main topics in the corporate governance of European listed firms: (i) board structure, composition and functioning and their interaction with ownership structure; (ii) board remuneration; (iii) shareholder activism and (iv) corporate governance disclosure based on the 'comply or explain' approach. The authors provide new comparative evidence and analyse its implications for the policy debate. They challenge the conventional wisdom that corporate governance in European firms was systematically dysfunctional. While proposals aimed at increasing disclosure and accountability are usually well-grounded, caution is suggested when bringing forward regulatory changes with respect to proposals targeting specific governance arrangements, especially in the fields of board composition and shareholder activism. They argue that the 'comply or explain' principle should be retained and further efforts should be exercised to enhance disclosure.

Registration

• Participation in ECMI-CEPS meetings is a benefit of ECMI and CEPS membership. ECMI and CEPS members register free of charge. EU and national officials, academics (including PhD students), NGOs (not representing a commercial interest) as well as press are also admitted free of charge.
• Other participants may be admitted for €125 (21% VAT included, payable via online registration secure platform). If you have questions regarding membership or participation, please contact karin.lenk@ceps.eu before registering.
• A sandwich lunch will be served before the event, from 12.30 onwards.

Queries

For more information please contact Karin Lenk at karin.lenk@ceps.eu or phone 0032 2 229 39 78.