Activism is once again front and center in the news lately with several high-profile situations taking the spotlight, from Trian and Disney (DIS) to Elliott and Salesforce (CRM). Thus it was timely to sit down with one of the experts in the activist landscape Michael R. Levin, founder of The Activist Investor and experienced board director and investor.

Michael and David discuss:
- Refresher on UPC contested shareholder voting
- How have activist contests been affected since the rule change
- Settlements vs. voting, what are the trends?
- Land & Buildings / Apartment Investment contest
- What are activists doing to take advantage of the new rules?
- How are companies and boards responding to UPC?
- What to look out for the rest of 2023? ESG Proponents?

Learn more about Michael R Levin and the activist investor at The Activist Investor

In the latest episode of Know Who Drives Return we sit down with Aria Glasgow, who leads AON's ESG Advisory practice. In her role Aria helps advise companies understand and prioritize their ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) risks.

As ESG continues to become top of mind for corporates, Aria discusses several areas that companies should be concerned about including compensation and incentives, DEI initiatives, the need for better data and reporting, and board oversight.

Watch the interview at Boardroom Alpha:
www.boardroomalpha.com/aons-aria-glasgow-on-managing-esg-and-human-capital-risk

For the full transcript, visit Boardroom Alpha:
www.boardroomalpha.com/aons-aria-glasgow-on-managing-esg-and-human-capital-risk

Boardroom Alpha's David Drapkin is joined by Korn Ferry's Anthony Goodman a lively discussion on board effectiveness, the SEC's new universal proxy card rules, and more.

In an era where board scrutiny and accountability are at an all-time high, board evaluations are of the utmost importance. In addition, a renewed focus on the evaluations of individual directors is becoming more front and center, particularly in light of the new Universal Proxy rules.

Learn more on universal proxy cards: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/univer...

** More on Anthony Goodman **
Anthony Goodman is Senior Client Partner, ESG & Head of Board Effectiveness Practice at Korn Ferry. Form more on Anthony, you can see his profile here: https://www.kornferry.com/about-us/co...

** Watch the video or read the transcript **
https://www.boardroomalpha.com/korn-ferrys-anthony-goodman-on-the-importance-of-board-evaluations/

Sam Zaid , CEO of Getaround, is a technology entrepreneur with an engineering background and a 15 year history in startups. Getaround is a peer to peer carsharing company, that Sam founded about 10 years ago to solve the problem of underutilized cars.

Sam joins David Drapkin on the Know Who Drives Return podcast to discuss the macro trends in car ownership and usage, why the ease of carsharing makes sense, and why they have decided to join the public markets via a reverse merger with InterPrivate II Acquisition Corp. (IPVA).

See the transcript, investor presentation and more.

Bruce Goldfarb, CEO of Okapi Partners, joins David Drapkin to discuss the newly implement Universal Proxy Card process. Bruce and David discuss the changes and impacts including:

• How we got here and overview of changes?
• Will universal proxy leads to more activism?
• What it means for individual directors
• Are there any ESG or DEI implications?
• Who are the winners and losers?

Watch the video here: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/universal-proxy-with-bruce-goldfarb-okapi

Ajay Kochar is the co-founder, President, and CEO of lithium ion battery recycling company Li-Cycle (LICY). An engineering expert in the field, Ajay and his co-founder, Tim Johnston, set out to solve the problem of battery recycling as the proliferation of lithium ion has exploded (in large part thanks to EVs).

Read more at: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/podcast-li-cycle-licys-ajay-kochar-on-lithium-ion-battery-recycling-and-evs

Boardroom Alhpa's David Drapkin talks to Bruce Ogilvie (Chairman) and Jeff Walker (CEO) from Alliance Entertainment. Both have long history in entertainment distribution industry. Their current company, Alliance Entertainment, has struck a deal to go public via Adara Acquisition Corp. (ADRA). Alliance is a distributor, buying physical entertainment goods from content providers (music companies, gaming companies etc.), and selling to retailers, e-commerce, and even a little D2C. 

Watch to learn how they aim is to be a one-stop-shop for all things entertainment.

Join David Drapkin as he speaks to Westrock Coffee CEO Scott Ford. Westrock Coffee is going public company via a $1.1B deal with Riverview Acquisition Corporation (RVAC).

** Watch the video or read the report

With tech valuations hammered by rising internet rates, stepping inflation and of course recession fears, we continue to sift through the wreckage for stocks that offer a combination of value and growth. One area that's proven to be a safe haven in the storm: enterprise software. But, for investors who balk at stocks like IBM and HPE, there are plenty of small cap plays. Playing on the theme of cloud computing and data, there's one battered deSPAC on our list that's been largely overlooked: WM Technology (MAPS), the parent company of Weedmaps. On the heels of a strong Q1 earnings report, Boardroom Alpha sat down with Weedmaps CEO Chris Beals to discuss the company's strategy for building a SaaS platform for cannabis commerce.

Read the full write-up here: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/maps-ceo-chris-beals-on-building-the-engine-for-cannabis-commerce/

Garrett Smallwood, CEO of Wag! explains why the pet care segment is immune to inflationary fears and poised for post-pandemic growth.

Garret joins Joanna Makris on the Know Who Drives Return podcast to go deep on his business and why it might be one of a few SPACs to perform post merger.

Watch all the Know Who Drives Return podcast episodes: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/podcast