Glass Lewis and Its Impact on Business and Society

Glass Lewis is a leading provider of governance and engagement solutions. It was founded in 2002 by a team of experienced corporate governance experts.

Glass Lewis provides proxy voting advice and other services to institutional investors, helping them make informed decisions about corporate governance matters. Its expertise is sought after by investors globally, including those in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Glass Lewis' impact on business and society is significant, with its research and analysis influencing corporate governance practices worldwide.

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Glass Lewis is one of the largest proxy advisory firms in the world, focusing mostly on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.

Their services are tailored to meet the needs of shareholders, offering individualized proxy research papers that provide in-depth analysis and recommendations.

Glass Lewis publicly releases an annual report on shareholder initiative policies, which includes general recommendations for resolutions on governance, executive compensation, and environmental and social issues.

This report serves as a valuable resource for shareholders, providing them with informed guidance on how to vote on key resolutions.

Glass Lewis focuses on providing expert analysis and recommendations to help shareholders make informed decisions.

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Glass Lewis has supported shareholder initiatives to impose stricter regulations on corporate boards, including requiring all board members to serve the same terms.

In 2020, the firm supported shareholder resolutions that would mandate an independent chairman of the board, create majority vote requirements for board member elections, and require reimbursement of expenses for dissident shareholders who succeed in passing their proposals.

Glass Lewis advocates for executive compensation to be tied to company performance, but advises shareholders to vote against resolutions that increase transparency beyond what's legally required in certain markets.

The firm advises shareholders to support resolutions designed to link executive pay to environmental and social criteria, within industry regulations, and to vote against reelecting corporate directors who use aggressive tactics against activist investors.

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Glass Lewis has a strong leadership team, with Kevin Cameron serving as the co-founder and board chair since September 2019. He brings 12 years of experience serving on various public company boards and the Glass Lewis Research Advisory Council.

Carrie Busch is the president and director of Glass Lewis, a role she's held since September 2019. She previously led the Glass Lewis research department and worked as a business analyst at Ionetix Corporation.

Bob Mann took over as CEO in May 2024, after a successful stint at Morningstar Sustainalytics, where he served as president, COO, and eventually CEO of their ESG branch.

Glass Lewis has a fascinating history that dates back to 2007, when Ontario Teachers' acquired the company, with Glass Lewis operating independently of the Board.

In 2013, a significant change occurred as Ontario Teachers' sold 20% of its ownership to AIMCo, a large institutional investment manager in Canada controlling over $70 billion in assets.

Glass Lewis has maintained a strong presence in the market, boasting around 37% of the market share for all proxy advisory services worldwide.

As of 2020, the company's influence extends globally, with over 1,200 investors using their proxy research and Viewpoint proxy vote management system.

Glass Lewis offers proxy voting recommendations at over 25,000 shareholder meetings worldwide, providing insights on business, legal, governance, and financial statement risk.

Kevin Cameron is the co-founder and board chair of Glass Lewis as of 2024, a position he took on in September 2019 after serving on various public company boards for twelve years.

Carrie Busch is the president and director of Glass Lewis, having been appointed to the role in September 2019 after previously running the Glass Lewis research department.

Bob Mann joined Glass Lewis in May 2024 to become its chief executive officer (CEO), bringing experience from his previous roles at Morningstar Sustainalytics, where he held positions including president and COO and eventually CEO of Sustainalytics.

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Glass Lewis & Co is a company that provides governance solutions within the financial services industry.

It was founded in 2003 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Glass Lewis & Co serves institutional investors and publicly listed companies.

The company offers services including proxy voting management, governance research, and voting recommendations based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

Glass Lewis & Co provides services for policy implementation, recordkeeping, and reporting, as well as executive compensation models and cybersecurity risk evaluations.

Glass Lewis, a prominent proxy advisor, has been at the center of a controversy. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating the firm for potentially misleading institutional investors and public companies by issuing voting recommendations that advance radical political agendas.

Glass Lewis and its rival ISS have issued statements expressing confidence that they have complied with all applicable laws. However, a federal judge has blocked Texas from enforcing a state law restricting their ability to advise shareholders on ESG practices.

In August, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Texas from enforcing the law, citing potential harm to the companies and their clients.

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Glass Lewis and ISS are being investigated by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for potentially misleading investors and public companies with their voting recommendations.

A press release from Paxton's office notes that his office has issued civil investigative demands to both firms to determine if they violated Texas consumer protection laws.

Glass Lewis and ISS have issued statements saying they're confident they've complied with all applicable laws.

A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Texas from enforcing a law restricting Glass Lewis and ISS from advising shareholders on ESG practices in August.

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In April and May 2019, controversy erupted at Knight Therapeutics, a Canadian company, over Glass, Lewis & Co's voting recommendations.

Glass, Lewis & Co failed to recuse itself from issuing voting recommendations in a proxy contest at Knight Therapeutics. This raised serious concerns about neutrality.

The proxy advisor sided with the slate of nominees, which included Kevin Cameron, a co-founder and past senior executive at Glass, Lewis & Co. This precedent could encourage future activist shareholders to include past proxy advisor senior executives in their nominee slates.

Kevin Cameron did not disclose in his publicly released biographies that he was on the board of directors of two separate public companies that filed for bankruptcy. These companies were ECOTality and Reddy Ice.

Cameron's lack of disclosure raised concerns about his neutrality and the potential for conflicts of interest.

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Glass Lewis has filed a total of 3 patents.

One of their patents was granted on May 28, 2013.

The title of this patent is High temperature glass fiber insulation.

This patent is related to glass compositions, synthetic fibers, glass engineering and science, elasticity (physics), and glass chemistry.

The application date for this patent was November 18, 2010.

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