Conference Buzz: Bored of Directors

Rising shareholder activism clearly topped the hot topic list when the National Investor Relations Institute’s senior-most members got together recently at their annual roundtable bash at the posh Montage resort in Laguna Beach.
 
Two take aways…
 

First, consider having a large institutional shareholder sit on the board. Other professional shareholders will like that and sense that their interests are being well represented. It will keep activists away.
 
Second, in a swing of the pendulum and score for baby boomers and smart young dot-com retirees, seek board board members. No, that was not a typo you just read. The wisdom being imparted relates to seeking directors who have time to be directors, rather than time-strapped CEOs and others who are actively engaged in their careers.

 
As for Laguna Beach, it was too chilly to get a suntan.

— Roger Pondel, President, rpondel@pondel.com