The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has named Professor Henry Hu, holder of the Allan Shivers Chair in the Law of Banking and Finance at the University of Texas School of Law, as one of the one hundred most influential people in corporate governance. Hu, currently serving as the inaugural director of the Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is listed among 25 “regulators and rule makers,” including Barack Obama, Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geithner, Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank, and Mary Schapiro. In addition, on November 8, 2010. Hu will be delivering the NACD Directorship 100 Keynote Address.
The list of honorees, known as the 2010 “Directorship 100,” results from a survey of 15,000 public company directors and executives. According to the NACD’s September 7, 2010, press release, the relatively large number of regulators and rule makers on the list shows “a shift in the type of leader exerting the most influence on corporate governance.” Honorees from other categories include Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, and Steve Jobs.
Henry Hu, Allan Shivers Chair in the Law of Banking and Finance
On July 14, 2010, the SEC undertook what the Wall Street Journal characterized as the SEC’s most comprehensive review of the shareholder voting infrastructure in thirty years. The WSJ article describes this SEC proxy review’s consideration of “empty voting” and related decoupling matters, Hu’s associated academic writings, and his recruitment to the SEC.
Hu’s research has centered on the law and economics of capital market innovations and corporate governance. He is best known for his articles on “decoupling” (which introduced terms like “empty creditors” and “empty voters”) and on the systemic and other risks posed by derivatives and other financial innovations.
Web profile of Professor Henry Hu
Contact: Kirston Fortune, UT Law Communications, 512-471-7330, kfortune@law.utexas.edu