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“Spending time with the family”: Do CEO exit euphemisms matter? | The University of North Texas, Ohio State University and Liverpool University

Academics analysed 1,330 forced exits at American public companies between 2016 and 2025 to see if the way a boss’s exit was framed has “real economic consequences”. Findings suggest it does. Where euphemistic language was used, it helped the outgoing CEO’s chances of landing a new job within a year and reduced their job search duration. But interestingly, it also helped the business: “euphemistic framing dampens negative inferences about the firm, facilitating faster and stronger successor...

2026 annual corporate directors survey | PwC

This research is based on a survey of 599 US public company directors. It highlights an interesting mismatch. Some 55 per cent of respondents said at least one director on their board should be replaced. Of those, 39 per cent point to “insufficient expertise” as the main reason. Yet when recruiting board members, directors give more importance to cultural fit than expertise.

2026 US governance postseason review | ISS Corporate

There is plenty to unpick about US public companies in this report, including that figures suggest “efforts to diversify boards have largely plateaued”. The findings on shareholder proposals are also noteworthy: governance-related proposals are up about 13 per cent year-on-year while anti-ESG, environmental and social submissions were down.

The true cost of corporate scandals? Talent | Harvard Business Review

This research looked at whether workers opt to leave their roles if their employer “is sanctioned for allegedly harming its stakeholders”. The results suggest they do. Violations that amount to 5 per cent of a company’s annual revenues are linked to an almost 4 per cent increase in workers leaving.

2026 CEO activism survey | Stanford

As a chief executive, should you speak up or stay quiet? This research might have the answer. It polled 2,807 people in the US to see how the public views bosses who set out their stall on environmental, social and political matters. Results were mixed: 55 per cent of respondents said chief executives should advocate on topics “they care about personally”. But 45 per cent think they should not. This changes when it comes to bosses taking a stance where matters “directly impact their business...

Directors’ remuneration in FTSE 100 companies | Deloitte

There is plenty to unpick in this detailed report. One interesting point is that the median total single figure pay for chief financial officers in the FTSE 100 was £2.27mn last year, down slightly on £2.46mn in 2024, whereas pay for chief executives was up.

Global financial services boardroom monitor | EY

The good news for directors in the boardrooms of European financial services businesses is that pay was up last year — and the “transatlantic pay gap” narrowed. The bad news was the gender gap: last year, female non-executive directors in European financial services boardrooms were paid about 39 per cent less than their male peers.

How to revive Europe’s stock market listings | Centre for European Reform

This interesting policy briefing suggests three areas of focus to boost European equity markets: “putting savings to work” via pensions reform and more retail investment; encouraging the “integration of stock markets across Europe”; and “facilitating a stronger pipeline of firms ready to list in Europe” including by completing the single market.

Preparing for a changing disclosure landscape — what the 2026 proxy season can tell us | PwC

A useful look-ahead for directors of US companies. It is cautious about the increased regulatory room for companies around disclosure. “For boards, reduced mandatory reporting should not be mistaken for a lower bar from investors,” it says. “ . . . Their demand for insight into company performance, risk, and governance is unlikely to disappear.”