About the Center
The Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management continues to serve as the leading global resource for testing, challenging, and advancing the premise that corporations should, and can, serve society. The Center focuses on the inter--relationships of management, the board of directors, shareholders, and stakeholders in creating long-term corporate and shareholder value in today’s complex and competitive economy, while at the same time meeting the heightened expectations of society.
The Center’s mission is even more relevant and crucial in light of the recent financial crises and corporate governance failures. Its efforts are currently directly related to improving the corporation’s capacity to deal with strategies and risk containment.
The Center pursues its mission through a uniquely interdisciplinary and global approach. Building on the international relationships of Center leaders coupled with Yale University’s convening power, the Center brings together leaders and experienced practitioners in business, investment, and public policy with top academics from economics, law, politics, and other fields.
The Center’s work complements the basic framework of the School of Management’s curriculum by looking at the corporation from multiple perspectives.
The Center accomplishes its goals by:
- generating relevant policy briefings based on peer group experiences
- sponsoring and undertaking research in corporate governance
- teaching student courses
- developing market capacity and infrastructure
- convening events to facilitate and enhance all other activities
The Center focuses the majority of its efforts on the following subject areas and their current economic context:
- firm governance (impact of firm structure; interactions among owners, board, and management)
- market institutions (role of institutions that are vital to transactions)
- the proper balance between regulation and private sector initiatives (role of regulation, transparency, industry best practices, and international standards)
- role of the corporation (rationale for the corporation, corporate obligation and responsibility, and expectations of stakeholders)
- shareholders (fund governance and the extent and exercise of ownership rights of retail and institutional investors, private pools of capital, and governments)
The Center’s dedicated staff, engaged board members, core group of faculty advisors, and affiliates help promote its mission and advance the aim of improving corporate governance practices and corporate performance around the world.
The Center has grown significantly, in terms of both research and output, since its inception in June 2006. Today, the Center conducts more than 20 projects annually, including conferences, workshops, roundtables, guest speaker programs, research projects, and policy briefings. Although the Center’s activities are numerous, the Center’s executive staff, including Senior Associate Dean Ira M. Millstein, carefully considers the linkages between the project and the Center’s central mission and goals before undertaking any project.
The Center works with partners, when possible, in order to pursue its projects and long-term goals.
