Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, considerable progress on governance reform has been made. Yet McKinsey surveys reveal that two powerful interests—directors and institutional investors—broadly agree that additional reform is needed.
In conjunction with the Directorship Search Group and the Institutional Investors Institute, we surveyed 150 US corporate directors serving as members of boards of more than 300 public companies across all economic sectors. Additionally, we heard from 44 US-based fund managers representing both public and private funds with a total of $3 trillion in assets under management.
These directors and investors wanted to see changes in three areas in particular: separating the roles of chairman and CEO, improving board accountability, and reforming executive compensation.
The exhibits included in this survey supplement a
McKinsey Quarterly article, "
A new era in corporate governance," that suggests how US boards can answer the call for more—and deeper—corporate-governance reform.
About the Authors
Bob Felton is a director in McKinsey’s Seattle office.
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