Yale Debuts Lead Directors Forum

The “Chairmen’s Forum” will take place on October 7 at the Yale Club of New York City.

Harry Pearce, chairman of Nortel Networks, is the founding chair of the forum. Spencer Stuart, the director and executive search consulting firm, will co-sponsor the event aimed at allowing U.S. and Canadian chairmen to share experiences, test opportunities for collective action on market issues, and form the core of a global network of chairmen organizations.

An estimated 35 percent of S&P 500 corporations have moved to implement a separate chairman rather than combining the job with that of CEO. The Millstein Center predicts that upswing will continue. Washington Mutual and Citigroup recently elected to separate the two positions. Last week, shareholders at ExxonMobil voted strongly in favor of adopting the independent chair model.

Pearce said the inaugural forum will consider endorsing policy guidance on the role of an independent chair in North America. The statement is being drafted by Pearce and Ira M. Millstein, senior associate dean for corporate governance at the Yale School of Management and senior partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

The Conference of Fund Leaders is a permanent body dedicated to peer collaboration among independent chairmen and lead directors of mutual funds. Stephen Davis, the project director, is also the editor of Global Proxy Watch, which is owned by Directorship.