Welcome to the Boardroom Governance Podcast. I’m your host, Evan Epstein. In this episode, I talk with Georgia Stewart, the CEO and co-founder of Tumelo, a UK based fintech company that builds technology to solve voting challenges for fund managers, investors, and investment platforms. Georgia is also a member of Aviva’s Independent Governance Committee (IGC). In this podcast, we talk about the rise of institutional investors, pass-through voting, and ESG vs anti-ESG trends both in the US and the UK. We also discuss the role of proxy advisors, the surge of retail investing post-pandemic, and how issuers and directors should approach the evolving investor landscape. If you like this show, please consider subscribing, leaving a review or sharing this podcast on social media. You can also now contribute as a Patron on the link patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod and you can subscribe to the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at evanepstein.substack.com
0:00 -- Intro.
1:16 -- Start of interview.
1:55 -- Georgia's "origin story".
2:42 -- The founding story of her company Tumelo.
5:37 -- On their differentiation with the divestment movement. Referenced: ShareAction, AMNT.
8:01-- On her role as a member of Aviva's Independent Governance Committee.
10:15 -- On the rise of institutional investors and their impact on corporate governance, along with concentration of power. Reference to E89 with Jan Van Eck: "Some Index Fund Companies Have Become Too Large To Be Left Unchecked."
16:54 -- On large asset managers passing-through voting power to beneficial owners (ie. BlackRock's Voting Choice). The opt-in model.
23:15 -- The contrast of ESG vs anti-ESG trends in the US and the UK. Reference to Vivek Ramaswamy (founder of Strive Asset Management) and Konstantin Kisin (UK-based commentator, anti-woke positions).
26:44 -- On the influence of the UK Stewardship Code.
30:34 -- On the role of proxy advisors (ie ISS and Glass Lewis) in proxy voting. "I think more diversification in that space is going to be important and inevitable (and technology will help with that)."
37:14 -- On the rise of retail investing post-pandemic and the impact of voting technologies. "The future of retail investor voting is all about the experience on the platform." Reference to Robinhood's acquisition of Say ($140m).
42:13 -- Issuers and directors will need to think about the new paradigm of investor communications.
43:33 -- The books that have greatly influenced her life: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie books. "They changed and improved the way I think about race."
44:21 -- Her mentors, and what she learned from them: Her dad.
45:27 -- Quotes she thinks of often or lives her life by: "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." (Mae West).
45:46 -- An unusual habit or an absurd thing that she loves: Foraging.
46:45 -- The living person she most admires: Paula Radcliffe.
Georgia Stewart is the CEO and co-founder of Tumelo, a UK based fintech company seeking to change the landscape of stewardship and investor voting.
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You can follow Georgia on social media at:
Twitter: @IAmGeorgiaS
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgia-stewart-861697107/
Tumelo: www.tumelo.com
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You can follow Evan on social media at:
Twitter: @evanepstein
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/
Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/
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You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:
Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod
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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License