Joe Grundfest is the William A. Franke Professor of Law and Business Emeritus at Stanford Law School and Senior Faculty at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance. In this episode, we cover: 1. The Political Landscape of Corporate Governance 2. The SEC's New Agenda – including crypto, regulatory changes, and the future of ESG and DEI 3. The Impact of DOGE on Government Efficiency 4. Delaware’s Corporate Landscape 5. The Rise of AI and New Corporate Structures As is tradition, we also discuss: 1. The biggest winner and loser in business in 2024 2. The biggest business surprise from last year 3. The best and worst corporate governance trends of 2024 4. Key governance trends to watch in 2025 Thank you for tuning in—I deeply appreciate your support of this podcast! If you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it on social media. You can also contribute by subscribing to the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at evanepstein.substack.com.
(0:00) Intro
(2:06) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel
(2:53) Start of interview. *Reference to prior episodes with Joe (E1 from '20, E35 from '21, E84 from '23, E123 from '24)
(4:53) The future of the SEC with Chairman Paul Atkins
(6:30) New approach to crypto by SEC
(9:40) On the politicization of corporate governance
(10:48) On the future of ESG ("Extremely Subjective Guessing") and DEI ("Decrease Emphasis Immediately")
(14:18) On DOGE, and how it plays out
(17:13) On the influence of Silicon Valley in the new Trump Administration
(21:40) On Delaware’s Corporate Landscape (two canaries in the coalmine: pre-IPO incorporations and re-domestications)
(25:01) On the Tornetta v Musk case, and challenging the award of $345 million in attorneys' fees to the plaintiffs
(28:54) AI and the malpractice insurance system. "How AI eats the world"
(32:52) On OpenAI's structure and PBCs. On "exit tax" from converting from non-profit to for-profit.
(36:49) How do corporations relate to (an increasingly polarized) society: big theme for 2025.
(38:05) Biggest winner and loser in business in 2024
(40:38) Biggest business surprise in 2024
(42:46) Best and worst corporate governance trend from 2024
(43:05) What’s the biggest corporate governance trend to watch out for in 2025
Joe Grundfest is the William A. Franke Professor of Law and Business Emeritus at Stanford Law School and Senior Faculty at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance.