NYC Comptroller Lander, NYC Employees’ and Teachers’ Retirement Systems Trustees Announce Wins to Enhance Corporate Board Disclosure at NextEra Energy and Boyd Gaming Corporation

New York, NY – New York City Comptroller Brad Lander announced that his office reached agreements with Boyd Gaming Corporation and NextEra Energy on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) to publicly disclose a board matrix disclosing each of their director’s relevant skills, experience, attributes, as well as their gender and race/ethnicity.

Such board matrices promote inclusive practices by helping to set a tone from the top and are an important part of a comprehensive human capital management strategy. These matrices are utilized as a standard throughout many industries to provide consistent and comparable data for long-term investors.

“Diversity remains a key driver of business performance and positions our portfolio companies for success. It’s not only the right thing to do – but the smart thing to do. We remain committed to urging our companies to implement tools to ensure that diversity at the highest levels of leadership reflects the range of experience and perspectives needed to navigate the complex and rapidly changing business environment and deliver strong returns for stakeholders,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

The shareholder proposals that will go to a vote at both DraftKings and Corpay request the implementation and public disclosure of these board matrices with a focus on the skills and attributes that are most relevant in light of their overall business, long-term strategy, and risks.

The matrices would provide investors with decision-useful information that helps them:

• assess how well-suited individual director nominees are for the company;
• identify any gaps in skills or attributes;
• make meaningful, year-over-year comparisons of the Board’s composition; and
• ascertain the self-identified gender, race/ethnicity, skills and attributes of any particular director who has assumed leadership roles on the board/committees, and his/her/their tenure.

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York reached the agreement with NextEra Energy, which marks a particularly crucial milestone in our engagement. While past efforts, including a strong 49% of shareholder vote in favor of the 2023 proposal, did not initially lead to action, however, now NextEra has committed to transparency. The proposal focused on ensuring that directors disclose the skills most relevant to climate risk mitigation, a critical factor in NextEra’s long-term success as a leading energy company.

The agreements reached with Boyd Gaming by the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York and the proposals on the ballot at DraftKings and Corpay build on the Systems’ industry leadership in advocating for this governance measure to foster more inclusive leadership structures. Previously, the Systems reached board diversity matrix disclosure agreements at companies including Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Marriott International, Blackrock, and PepsiCo, setting a new standard for transparency on corporate boards.

Research shows that diversity in skills, experience, attributes, and gender and race/ethnicity are positively correlated with stronger performance across the board, from financial outcomes and innovation, to being more equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern business landscape and mitigate risk. Currently, many boards utilize outdated practices to nominate directors, rather than a rigorous assessment that factors in diverse experience and representation.

As of December 31, 2024, the Systems have holdings valued at $18.53 million at Boyd Gaming Corporation, $186.53 million at NextEra Energy, $37.93 million at DraftKings, and $22.24 million at Corpay.

Investors will have the opportunity to vote on similar proposals presented by the Systems at the annual general meeting of sports betting company DraftKings Inc. and business payments and expense management platform Corpay, Inc. this Spring.

Read the DraftKings and Corpay proposals.

More on the work of the Systems’ efforts to advocate for stronger board diversity practices:

• NYC Comptroller and Pension Funds Ask GameStop, NextEra Energy to Disclose Board Demographics (March 2024)
• New York City Comptroller and Pension Funds Ask Companies to Disclose Board Demographics and Experience (May 2023)
• Major Companies to Disclose Additional Board Director Diversity and Inclusion Data After Successful Engagement with NYC’s Public Pension Systems (May 2022)

In addition to Comptroller Lander, the trustees of the aforementioned systems are as follows:

Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York (TRS): Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; Greg Faulkner, Chair, New York City Public Schools’ Panel for Educational Policy; and Thomas Brown (Chair), Victoria Lee, and Christina McGrath, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS): Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn), Vanessa L. Gibson (Bronx), Mark Levine (Manhattan), Donovan Richards Jr. (Queens), Vito Fossella (Staten Island), and; Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; John Chiarello, President, Transport Workers Union Local 100; and Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

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