Top tech groups try to dilute ESG disclosure rules

June 20, 2021

(Financial Times) Microsoft and Alphabet have pushed back against calls to include disclosures on environmental, social and governance issues in key US regulatory filings, setting them on course for a tussle with major asset managers.

Biden elevates tech antitrust crusader Lina Khan to FTC chair

June 15, 2021

(TechCrunch) The Senate confirmed Big Tech critic and prominent antitrust scholar Lina Khan as FTC Commissioner Tuesday. In a strong and surprising signal that the tech industry is overdue for some intense regulatory scrutiny, Biden elevated the newly-confirmed Khan to chair the agency the same day.

Does Tech Need a New Narrative?

June 15, 2021

(The New Yorker) In Silicon Valley, “disruption” is giving way to “building.” What will be built? In 2009, Marc Andreessen—a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and angel investor best known for cofounding Netscape, in 1994, at the age of twenty-two—announced that he would be starting a venture-capital firm. “I’m crossing over into the dark side,” he said,…

These are the areas where LGBTQ workers feel their employers fall short

June 8, 2021

(The Business Journals) Rainbow logos abound in June to honor Pride Month, but recently released data indicate LGBTQ+ employees are less satisfied at work than their colleagues. 

Tech companies made big pledges to fight racism last year — here’s how they’re doing so far

June 6, 2021

(CNBC) Last June, social media feeds became flooded with corporate statements about how companies would promote racial equity within and beyond their workforce. The commitments came after the police murder of George Floyd sparked protests around the country.

SEC Ousts Head of Top Audit Regulator Amid Warren Pressure

June 4, 2021

(Bloomberg) The SEC announced the removal of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chairman William Duhnke.

Opinion: The ‘Mean Greens’ Are Forcing Exxon to Clean Up Its Act

June 1, 2021

(New York Times) Since the 1990s, the wisest oil-producing countries and companies have regularly reminded themselves of the oil patch adage that the Stone Age did not end because we ran out of stones; it ended because we invented bronze tools.

Exxon Mobil May be Big Oil’s Canary in the Coal Mine

June 1, 2021

(Bloomberg) Exxon Mobil Corp.’s recent board of directors shakeup is by most accounts a clear signal to corporate America that ambivalence and greenwashing will no longer be enough when it comes to addressing the climate crisis.

Ex-Goldman’s Kathy Matsui Starts ESG Venture Capital Fund

May 31, 2021

(Bloomberg) MPower Partners Fund will focus on investing in growth- to late-stage Japanese startups, with the rest going into earlier-stage firms overseas in areas like healthcare, fintech and sustainability.

A Glimpse of a Future With True Shareholder Democracy

May 21, 2021

(The New York Times) Under current rules, it is the index fund executives, not the millions of people who invest in them, who have the power to cast proxy votes. Those votes are the heart of a system intended to give investors a voice on crucial matters like how much the chief executive is paid…