Officer Exculpation Charter Amendments: A 2023 Proxy Season Review
Effective in August 2022, Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law was amended to permit Delaware corporations to exculpate “covered officers,” providing such officers with certain protections traditionally available only to directors. Since then, over 200 publicly traded Delaware corporations have amended their certificate of incorporation (or charter) to adopt an officer exculpation provision. In this Alert, we evaluate the results of the 2023 proxy season, during which 279 public companies included a proposal in their annual meeting proxy statement requesting stockholder approval of a charter amendment to adopt an officer exculpation provision. We also take stock of factors that influenced the voting outcomes, including ISS and Glass Lewis recommendations, as well as considerations for companies that have not yet adopted officer exculpation as they look ahead to the 2024 proxy season.
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Co-Head of Public Company Advisory Group
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