MONTH-IN-BRIEF (Oct 2019)
Corporate Governance
NYC Comptroller Launches “Boardroom Accountability Project 3.0” Calling on Companies to Adopt the “Rooney Rule” in Searches for New Board Directors and CEOs
By Rani Doyle
The influential NYC Comptroller Scott M. Stringer issued a press release on October 11, 2019 and sent a letter on October 10, 2019 to 56 S&P 500 companies to adopt a “Rooney Rule” policy for director and CEO searches. The “Rooney Rule” derives from the NFL and, in that context, requires teams to interview minority candidates for head coaching, general manager jobs and equivalent front office positions. In looking to have companies adopt the “Rooney Rule” for director and CEO searches, the Comptroller is seeking “to make meaningful, long-lasting, and structural change in the market practice so that women and people of color are welcomed in the door and open for every open director seat as well as for the job of CEO.” Past initiatives of the NYC Comptroller have had broad influence on the S&P 500.
