2023 Proxy Season in Review
View Debevoise In Depth
Key Takeaways:
- We reviewed the recently concluded proxy season—the first under the mandatory universal proxy regime—to evaluate some early predictions made about the universal proxy.
- While the data set is probably too small for definitive conclusions, predictions that the universal proxy would result in many more director election contests, at lower cost to activists, were not borne out.
- However, activists did, as predicted, have better results with the universal proxy in achieving at least partial success in election contests.
- Many companies revamped their advance notice bylaws to address the universal proxy and, depending on how those bylaws were used, sometimes encountered friction with activists.