We examine the outside director selection process using unique data on appointments of academic directors. Overall, we find academic directors tend to be appointed by small- and mid-cap firms expanding their boards. However, we find important differences in both the factors influencing academic...

The Securities Offering Reform (SOR), promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2005, represents a major change in the seasoned equity offering (SEO) process. SOR eases disclosure restrictions and reduces uncertainty regarding disclosures allowed prior to an SEO. The...

We create a new measure called director-specific quality (DSQ) that captures the collection of value-relevant transferable attributes unique to a director and explains 10% of the variation in firm value. Directors with higher DSQ receive greater voter support, and investors respond more (less)...

Using a hand-collected novel dataset, we provide the first in-depth study of solicitations exempt from proxy filing requirements. Our findings indicate that proxy exempt solicitations (ES) are an effective, lower-cost alternative to proxy contests. They provide a unique, more flexible way for...