Featured Media & Press News Article Trillium News

Fortune: Greater Board Risk Oversight at Facebook

Boston, MA // June 11, 2018 – On Friday, June 8th, Fortune published commentary authored by Trillium Asset Management’s Director of Shareholder Advocacy Jonas Kron titled, “Microsoft Does These 2 Things to Stay out of Trouble. Facebook Should Try Them”. Read the introduction below and the full commentary on www.fortune.com.


Microsoft Does These 2 Things to Stay out of Trouble. Facebook Should Try Them

Twenty years ago, Bill Gates sat in a congressional hot seat responding to pointed and angry questions about his company’s impact on society and anti-competitive practices. For Microsoft, the following decade was a painful, distracting, and expensive era as the company fought anti-trust litigation in the U.S. and Europe. But when it emerged on the other side, it brought with it two key governance features: one, an independent board chairman, and two, a Regulatory and Public Policy Committee to assist the board of directors in overseeing risks that concern public policy and corporate social responsibility. As Facebook CEO and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook board, and Facebook shareholders look to the future, they would do well to learn from these two lessons that Microsoft can teach.
Facebook (FB, +1.55%) has been spending the last few months plowing money and people into multiple efforts to address the litany of problems the company has been facing. Of course this is all well and good, but despite all the fanfare of its announcements, they do not change a fundamental structural flaw at the heart of the company: weak corporate governance.
Read the full commentary on www.fortune.com.

###

Important Disclosure: The information provided is not a recommendation to buy or sell the securities mentioned. The securities were selected on an objective basis for illustrative purposes and do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended. It should not be assumed that investments in the securities have been or will be profitable. The securities do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold or recommended for advisory clients.