GSK appoints women directors in board shake-up
A Chinese banker and an American oil executive are to join the board of GlaxoSmithKline in appointments that will give the group more women in its boardroom than any other blue-chip company. The pair will join GSK in July, bringing the number of women on the board to five out of 16 directors. No other FTSE 100 company has as many women directors. Six companies — including HSBC, Marks & Spencer and Pearson — have four women on their boards. The drinks company Diageo boasts the best gender balance, with four women on a board of nine.
The Times* p44 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/health/article3404207.ece
Businesses ‘should help prisoners get work
Major employers should give prisoners work experience placements and training and help more ex-offenders get work, Ken Clarke has said. The British justice secretary said firms like Virgin and Marks & Spencer could hire ex-offenders without damaging their reputation and values. At a reception for companies in Downing Street later this month, he will argue that prisoners can be highly motivated. Ministers are launching a new scheme to improve prisoners’ job prospects.
BBC News http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17938269
Corporate Reputation
Furious investors call time on excess in the boardroom
Aviva’s shareholders staged one of the biggest pay revolts in corporate history yesterday as investors across Europe rose up against multimillion-pound bonuses and golden hellos for bosses. In a concerted show of defiance against executive pay bonanzas, shareholders came out in force at UBS, Premier Foods and Reckitt Benckiser. But the size of the mutiny at Britain’s second-biggest insurer came as by far the biggest shock. Had government proposals to make shareholder votes binding been in place for yesterday’s meetings, the insurer would almost certainly have been forced to reverse its pay policies.
The Times* p41 http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/banking/article3403773.ece
East African CSR awards
Five regional firms in East Africa have received top honours for their contribution to society. The firms based in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda scooped top awards in the Bank M East African Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) competition this year. Sarova Hotels Resorts and Game Lodges, Tullow Uganda Operations Pty Ltd, Vodacom Tanzania Ltd, Unilever Tea Kenya Ltd, Coca Cola Central, East & West Africa Business Unit, emerged winners out of 24 companies which were shortlisted.
The East African http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/Firms+win+awards+for+corporate+citizenship+/-/2560/1390952/-/1relhfz/-/index.html
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