Palo Alto Networks Elects First Woman to Board of Directors

Boston, MA // November 16, 2016: Trillium commends Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW), a network and enterprise security company, for appointing Mary Pat McCarthy, the first woman director to serve on the company’s Board. Ms. McCarthy, former vice chair of KPMG LLP, brings a diverse perspective and deep skill set in finance, risk management, and business strategy to the company.
In 2015, Trillium successfully withdrew its Board Diversity shareholder proposal at Palo Alto following the company’s agreement to institutionalize a commitment to board diversity inclusive of gender, race, and ethnicity in its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Charter of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and 2015 proxy statement.
Numerous studies, including a 2016 report published by Credit Suisse Research Institute, have documented that greater board and management diversity coincide with improved corporate governance, competitiveness, and financial performance.[1]

 “On key parameters of corporate governance, boards that are identical in terms of gender, race and culture can offer limited value,” said Susan Baker, Vice President of Shareholder Advocacy at Trillium. “We commend Palo Alto Networks for improving governance practices relating to board diversity and applaud the recent appointment of Ms. McCarthy.”

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For more information, please contact: Susan Baker, sbaker@trilliuminvest.com
[1] Credit Suisse. “Thought Leadership from Credit Suisse Research and the World’s Foremost Experts.” Credit Suisse Research Institute, January 2016. https://www.credit-suisse.com/us/en/about-us/research/research-institute/publications.html.
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