|
WHERE
ARE THE GREAT AND THE GOOD? |
||
 564KB |
 3.55MB |
 2.26MB |
|
Where are the Great and the Good? In July of
this year, 330 delegates from 26 countries representing 10
trillion dollars gathered for the 5th annual conference of
the International Corporate Governance Network in New York
City. This is the largest gathering of institutional money that has ever been recorded. It represents a growing conviction that the ownership of the major industries of the world lies in relatively few hands, that these are trustees under the laws of each of their countries, and that some level involvement by the trustees and the activities of the portfolio companies can reasonably be expected. The increase in interest in governance has been startling. In light of all this, one has to ask "where were the Great and the Good?" Where was the Ford Foundation? The Ford Foundation's offices are on 1st Ave and 42nd St. about 3 blocks from where the conference was held. Where was the General Motors Pension Fund? GM's Pension Fund is on 5th Ave and 59th St about 10 blocks away. Where were the endowments of Harvard, Yale and Princeton all of whom have clubs within 2 or 3 blocks of where the Conference was held? They weren't there either. There must be some explanation. Either the activism interests of those who were at the ICGN Conference are misguided, or the Great and the Good should not be permitted to continue to absent themselves from these considerations. This is an issue that is too important to allow not to be discussed fully. If people who hold large percentages of companies in their portfolio are going to be held in any way responsible for what those companies do, then we are entitled to have the participation of all of the owners. The Great and the Good can no longer decide that it is inconvenient for them to belong. Related Sites |
||
|
||
| Suggested Reading at The Corporate Library | ||
|
||