Lewis & Clark Law Review
First Page
1469
Abstract
The United States has entered a new age of business: the Age of CEO Activism. “CEO activism” is the phenomenon where Chief Executive Officers (“CEOs”) and other C-Suite members use their executive platforms to speak out on political, social, and environmental topics not directly related to their businesses. These fiduciaries have become more and more vocal about their political or social ideology, especially around largescale political events.
In this age, however, shareholders are left with scant rights due to the overbroad protections granted by the business judgment rule. Instead, shareholders must sit passively as their C-Suite members charge blindly into the political arena. To help strengthen shareholders’ rights in this new age, courts should do away with the business judgment rule for political statements. In its place, courts should use increased scrutiny for political or social statements and require a close fit between the statement and the company’s best interests. This enhanced review would enforce the current corporate law that shareholder primacy and wealth maximization remain the number one priority, rather than the personal crusades of a corporation’s leadership.
Recommended Citation
Savannah J. Wolfe,
Business Playing Politics: Strengthening Shareholders’ Rights in the Age of CEO Activism,
23
Lewis & Clark L. Rev.
1469
(2020).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/lclr/vol23/iss4/10