The latest trends in governance and proxy voting: Podcast

The latest trends in governance and proxy voting: This episode of the corporate governance podcast explores shareholder and investor sentiment ahead of a busy proxy season.

At the time of this episode’s release in March 2026, we’re right on the doorstep of proxy season. If you’re not too familiar with the term, this is the main period of the year when public companies hold annual meetings and, crucially, shareholder votes on key issues like director elections and executive compensation.

As ever, it’s a good time to put corporate strategy and priorities under the microscope, and get a feel for what different groups of shareholders are most concerned about. 

In this episode, Dan will explore that with Ryan Wade, General Manager of Corporate Issuer Solutions at Broadridge Financial Services. He’ll take us through the latest data on shareholder proposals and voting activity, all contained in Broadridge’s ProxyPulse Report (™) 2025, which has some key findings around issues like institutional support of shareholder proposals and ESG.

Ryan Wade is a highly accomplished global executive with a distinguished career leading and scaling complex corporate services businesses. His leadership spans a portfolio of regulated and non-regulated businesses, including Shareholder Meeting Services, Governance Consulting, Proxy Solicitation, Regulatory Filings, Transfer Agency, Capital Markets Intelligence and Investor Relations. He has consistently driven enterprise growth by designing and executing data-driven corporate strategies, go-to-market initiatives, and transformational operating models. His expertise covers business development, strategic partnerships, product innovation, and operational optimisation—leveraging rigorous market analysis to create, position, and scale differentiated client value.

A decisive problem solver and strategic thinker, Ryan is known for translating complex challenges into actionable strategies and measurable results. He is a persuasive communicator and trusted advisor who builds high-performing teams and enduring relationships with boards, C-suite leaders, institutional stakeholders, partners, regulators, and industry bodies.

Ryan has managed multi-hundred-million-dollar budgets with full P&L accountability and has played senior leadership roles in sourcing, evaluating, and executing multi-billion-dollar M&A transactions.

A growth-focused C-level leader recognised for driving transformation and enterprise value creation, Ryan brings a truly global perspective shaped by senior roles in Sydney, London, Hong Kong, and New York.

He holds an MBA from the University of New South Wales (AGSM), where he was awarded the Director’s Prize for top performance in Strategic Management.

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