12:54 p.m., June 30, 2010----Troy A. Paredes, Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner, addressed corporate governance standards and executive compensation in his keynote speech to attendees of the Directors' College for Compensation Committee Members last week on the University of Delaware campus in Newark.

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The Directors' College, a one and a half day “boot camp” held June 21-22 for directors of public companies, was cosponsored by the Conference Board Governance Center in partnership with UD's John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.

In his remarks, Paredes addressed pending financial reform, and questioned whether mandated direct shareholder involvement in the corporate governance system is the key to preventing future financial meltdowns. He talked about current proposals and their potentially negative effects on the financial system.

Paredes argued that a framework should be designed to outline the appropriate communication between shareholders and directors. In light of the recent debates on proxy access, Paredes emphasized that it is now more important than ever to pre-empt conflicts and resolve arising issues between investors and boards through open communication.

Paredes also addressed some problems with corporate governance standards.

“There needs to be a balance between form and substance,” he said. “A 'check-the-box' mentality is dangerous if directors focus on simply fulfilling requirements on a checklist and not spending the time to actually improve board functions and corporate performance.”

On the flip side, Parades proposed that directors be exposed to a set of accepted best standards for guidance and impetus to strive for excellence.

In addition to Paredes, Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Myron Steele also gave a keynote address.

Other featured speakers included Steven Hall of Steven Hall & Partners; John White of Cravath, Swaine & Moore and former director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance; Norman Veasey, partner at Weil, Gotshal & Mangers and former Delaware Supreme Court chief justice; Hye-Won Choi, head of corporate governance at TIAA-CREF; and Anne Sheehan, director of corporate governance at the California pension fund, CalSTRS.

The Directors' College was organized through the efforts of Weinberg Center Associate Director Roger Coffin, Administrative Assistant Alba Bates, and UD student interns Eugenia Uskova, Craig Ferrere and Michael Rockel, together with Weinberg Center Director Charles Elson.

Article by Kathryn Ann Marrone
Photos by Evan Krape, Kathy F. Atkinson and Ambre Alexander