Lou Thompson Named Fellow of Governance & Accountabilty Institute
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) New York, NY - May 12, 2010 - Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. announces the recognition and appointment of Lou Thompson as Fellow of the Institute. Mr. Louis M. Thompson, formerly President/CEO of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) from 1982-2006, is a recognized expert on corporate governance and disclosure, investor relations and corporate strategic communications. He remains active in all fields.
After his retirement from NIRI, Mr. Thompson served simultaneously as a partner for Genesis, Inc. in Denver, and as a Managing Director for Kalorama Partners, LLC, a business-consulting firm in Washington, D.C. founded by former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. He also became a monthly columnist for Compliance Week magazine and continues in that capacity.
Additionally, Mr. Thompson founded his own consulting firm, Value Creation & Governance Strategies, LLC, with a mission of assisting corporations identify, develop and execute best practices in corporate governance, disclosure and positioning. Mr. Thompson is also currently serving a second term on the NYSE’s Individual Investor Advisory Committee. He is a member of the Ketchum, Inc. Corporate Governance Advisory Board. He is an adjunct professor of communication at Germanna Community College in central Virginia.
In announcing Mr. Thompson’s appointment, Henry (Hank) Boerner, Chairman and CEO of the Governance & Accountability Institute, said: We are pleased to have Lou as a Fellow of the Institute where he will continue his research and commentary on shareholder, corporate governance and sustainability topics and issues. His voice is one that needs to be heard on the issue affecting public corporations and their boards, executives and investor relations managers. We look forward to his contributions to education of investors and corporate managers of Corporate Social Responsibility and governance topics of importance.
Mr. Thompson told the 19th Annual Corporate Securities Law Seminar in Milwaukee on October 20, 2010: The evolution of corporate governance over the past three decades since institutional investor activism began has been dramatic. At each step of the way, shareholders have demanded greater involvement in the governance process and significant events where corporations have failed to do the right thing have resulted in new legislative and regulatory requirements, some of which were designed to change corporate behavior for social purposes -- and not necessarily passed to provide investors better information.
The roles of the board of directors and director accountability have been part of this evolutionary process. Good companies with strong, dedicated directors, who are willing to ask management the tough questions, will ultimately create greater shareholder wealth and trust and confidence in the board and senior management that all investors are seeking.
In acknowledging his appointment as a Fellow, Mr. Thompson said, “I am deeply honored to be recognized as a Fellow of the Institute as I have enormous respect for Hank Boerner and the organization. I look forward to continuing to contribute my perspectives on what corporations need to do to pursue excellence in goverance and sustainability efforts who serve their investors and the global community with the G &A Institute, its clients, subscribers and other constituents.”
Mr. Thompson was the author of NIRI’s "Guidelines for Corporate Disclosure"; he was the first recipient of Barron's and Investor Relations Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award for Investor Relations and Communication (2000).
He served as a member of the Harvard University New Foundations Working Group on Corporate Governance and was on SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt's Advisory Committee. He served as Assistant White House Press Secretary to President Gerald R. Ford.
In April 2009, Mr. Thompson completed a three-year term as Chairman of the Advisory Council for Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication where he earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees. In 2001, Mr. Thompson received the highest award presented by Greenlee, the James W. Schwartz Award for distinguished service to journalism and communication. He is a 1998 graduate of Stanford University Graduate School of Business Senior Executive program.
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