We show that one third of S&P 1500 firms have private equity (PE) professionals on their boards. PE director appointments are followed by changes in firm investment policies; specifically, by significant declines in R&D outlays, capital expenditures, and innovation activity of public firms. PE...

We examine M&A transactions between firms with current board connections and find that acquirers obtain higher announcement returns in transactions with a first-degree connection where the acquirer and the target share a common director. Acquirer returns are also higher in transactions with a...

On September 30, 2018, California became the first U.S. state to set quotas for women directors on corporate boards. The passage of this law resulted in a significant decline in shareholder value for firms headquartered in California. The decline in shareholder value is directly related to the...