THIRD ANNUAL MEETING AND COLLOQUIUM EXAMINES THE “DEMISE OF THE U.S. PUBLIC COMPANY”

The American College of Governance Counsel conducted its Third Annual Meeting and Colloquium on November 2 and 3, 2017 at the New York offices of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.  The Colloquium addressed the “Demise of the U.S. Public Company,” as well as governance of the increasing number of larger and more broadly-held  private companies resulting from that trend.

In an interview conducted by College Chair, John F. Olson, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Walter J. Clayton, discussed his concerns regarding the decreasing number of U.S. public companies,  the impact of that development on  “main street” investors and other issues affecting the U.S. capital markets.

The Colloquium included panel discussions chaired by Larry W. Sonsini and Stanford Law Professor Joseph Grundfest. Panels featured  Ken Bertsch (Executive Director of the Council of Institutional Investors), Barry McCarthy (Chief Financial Officer of Spotify), Elisabeth D. de Fontenay  (Professor at Duke Law) and Matt Levine (Columnist at Bloomberg View).

A full Report of the Proceedings of the Colloquium will be prepared and published on this website.

At the College’s  Annual Meeting, it was  also announced that Lawrence W. Sonsini will assume the role of Chairman of the College, effective January 1, 2018, at the conclusion of the successful tenure of the College’s Founding Chair, John F. Olson.

In conjunction with the Colloquium, the College conducted its inaugural Masters Academy held on November 1, 2017 at the New York offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. 

The Academy was attended by lawyers with an expressed intention of pursuing a career in the governance field chosen for participation from a group nominated by Fellows of the College.

Founding Co-Chair Ira M. Millstein served as Convenor for the program and delivered a keynote address focusing on the pivotal role that lawyers play in promoting the proper governance of their clients.

The Academy was co-chaired by Founding Trustee Gregory V. Varallo and John Mark Zeberkiewicz of Richards, Layton & Finger.

In addition to presentations by Messrs. Varallo and Zeberkiewicz concerning litigation issues that commonly serve as a backdrop for governance advice, case studies were presented by Founding Trustees Holly J. Gregory and Frank M. Placenti.