The Return of Shameless Shareholder Capitalism

The return of shameless shareholder capitalism

CAMBRIDGE – In 2019, the Business Roundtable, an association of the United States’ most powerful CEOs, won widespread praise by announcing its commitment to “stakeholder capitalism,” which delivers value not only to shareholders, but also to other affected actors, such as employees and communities. Now, however, the Business Roundtable has changed its tune: its April report, “The Need for Bold Proxy Process Reforms,” reads almost like a manifest…

The Return of Shameless Shareholder Capitalism

Six years after its much-touted commitment to "stakeholder capitalism," the US Business Roundtable is seeking to scrap one of the few formal mechanisms through which stakeholders – including employees, community groups, and long-term investors – can influence corporate behavior. No one should be surprised.