CORPGOV - Key Persons

David Mead-Fox

David Mead-Fox of Nurture Democracy, allows me to share this symbol of citizenship, community, and cooperation with readers. David designed the graphic around 1979 when we both attended the "Social Economy and Social Policy" graduate program within the sociology department at Boston College. Our driving force was Severyn T. Bruyn, a wide-ranging thinker who began the program with a $200,000 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. Sev insisted we each start businesses so that we could better understand the challenges they face. David and I founded Products for Democracy, starting with bumper stickers and t-shirts with David's logo and phrases promoting a democratic workplace, such as Make it Democratically and Democratize the Workplace.

James McRitchie

Job Titles:
  • Publisher
James McRitchie, Publisher CorpGov.net since 1995. The best way to contact me is by e-mail at jm@corpgov.net.

Josh Black

Job Titles:
  • Editor - in - Chief of Activist Insight

Richard Koppes - Shareholder

Job Titles:
  • Shareholder
  • CalPERS' General Counsel
At the end of July 1996 Richard Koppes left his job at CalPERS, the $100 billion California Public Employees Retirement System. CalPERS has been on the cutting edge of corporate governance since 1984 when Jesse Unruh, then California Treasurer, discovered the Bass brothers were "greenmailing" Texaco to the tune of $137 million. Unruh helped establish the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) to coordinate the fight for corporate governance reform. Soon afterward, Mr. Koppes joined CalPERS as general counsel. A few of CalPERS' accomplishments during Mr. Koppes' tenure include: Koppes: Shareholder committees came about as a frustration with insular boards. Now there's not as much need because boards are more responsive. As long as there is a strong independent board that comes from an independent nominating committee, and they're not just the CEO's golfing buddies, and as long as there's communication and an understanding of who your shareholders are, then I don't think they are needed. Its only needed when there's a disconnect between shareholders and the board.