A Timely Recommendation…
Corporations Should Reconsider the Value of Their Political Action Committees
We are happy to share Douglas K. Chia’s’s timely memo about board oversight of corporate political activities, especially PACs. You can find it on Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/02/08/corporations-should-reconsider-the-value-of-their-political-action-committees/. Mr. Chia, a valued member of our Advisory Board, observes that “corporate political spending has long been an issue in corporate governancere” and predicts it “will become a bigger board issue.”
Notably, Foresight’s recommended agenda topics include an annual “Report on Government Relations Programs and Compliance.”
A bit about Douglas K. Chia:
Mr. Chia is sole owner and President of Soundboard Governance LLC and Fellow at the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance. Previously, he was Executive Director of The Conference Board ESG Center and continues to contribute to The Conference Board as a Senior Fellow. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law.
Before joining The Conference Board in 2016, Mr. Chia served as Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Johnson & Johnson. Previously, he served as Assistant General Counsel, Corporate of Tyco International. He also practiced law at the global firms Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Clifford Chance in New York and Hong Kong.
Mr. Chia has held a number of central leadership positions in the corporate governance field, including Chair of the Board of the Society for Corporate Governance, President of the Stockholder Relations Society of New York, and member of the New York Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Commission. He is a current member of the American Bar Association’s Corporate Laws Committee and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Mr. Chia has received numerous awards and recognitions in corporate governance. He has frequently appeared in the news media, including CNN, NPR Marketplace, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and The New Yorker.
Mr. Chia received an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.