Program

9:00-10:00 Creative Destruction via Mergers and Acquisitions: Inventor-level Evidence

Presenter: Kai Li, University of British Columbia
Discussant: Ramin Baghai, Stockholm School of Economics

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10:00-10:30 Coffee Break

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10:30-11:30 The Costs and Benefits of Shareholder Democracy

Presenter: Nickolay Gantchev, Southern Methodist University
Discussant: Andrew Ellul, Indiana University

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11:30-12:30 Retail Shareholder Participation in the Proxy Process

Presenter: Alon Brav, Duke University
Discussant: Karin Thorburn. Norwegian School of Economic

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12:30-13:30 Lunch

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13:30-14:15 The Practice of Investor Activism
Presenter: Harlan Zimmerman, Cevian Capital

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14:15- 14:30 Coffee Break

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14:30-15:30 Bucking the Trend: Why do IPOs Choose Controversial Governance Structures and Why Do Investors Let Them?

Presenter: Michelle Lowry, Drexel University
Discussant: Marco Becht, Solvay Brussels School and ECGI

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15:30-16:30 Phantom of the Opera: ETF Shorting and Shareholder Voting

Presenter: Oguzhan Karakas, University of Cambridge
Discussant: Gianpaolo Parise, EDHEC Business School

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16:30-17:00 Coffee Break

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17:00-18:00 Investors’ Perceptions of Activism via Voting: Evidence from Contentious Shareholder Meetings

Presenter: Fabrizio Ferri, University of Miami,
Discussant: Laurent Bach, ESSEC