CII Statement on the Passing of Ira M. Millstein

Washington, D.C., March 14, 2024 —The Council of Institutional Investors (CII) today issued the following remembrance honoring Ira M. Millstein, the corporate governance pioneer and respected lawyer, who passed away March 13.

“Ira Millstein was widely, and rightly, known as the “godfather” of corporate governance. At law firm Weil Gotshal & Manges, he advised numerous companies and boards on effective governance practices, and he championed active, responsive boards and engagement between shareholders, boards and management. His book, The Activist Director, was a roadmap for responsible governance. Ira Millstein discussed its themes at a special CII event in New York City in 2018.

“At the time, then-CII Board Chair Theresa Whitmarsh recalled the important role Ira Millstein played in CII’s history. Speaking at a CII conference in New York in 1987, he urged CII members to focus not just on anti-takeover devices, but also on corporate performance. Ira Millstein believed that public companies and pension fund investors had a shared interest in long investment horizons and in ensuring long-term performance. Company management and long-term shareholders needed to connect with each other. Ira Millstein’s speech was credited by Dale Hanson, then-CEO of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), with turning CalPERS, and the investor corporate governance movement more generally, to focus on performance and board effectiveness.”
 

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Click for PDF version. For media inquiries, please contact CII Editor Rosemary Lally.