Proxy Season Preview: Pay in the Crosshairs

Last year was a contentious one for corporate governance and shareholder proposals. What will 2007 bring? Institutional Shareholder Services, one of the main proxy advisory firms, has issued its 2007 Proxy Season Watch List, which offers some clues. One notable statistic: There are 39 shareholder proposals so far that would link executive pay more closely to a company’s performance, compared with just 17 such proposals in last year’s proxy season.