Sean Quinn advises companies on a variety of governance issues including proxy disclosure, investor and proxy advisor engagement and activism defense. He also advises boards on governance structures and practices and director succession planning and on-boarding.
Sean joined Teneo in April 2017 from ISS, where he was an Executive Director and Head of U.S. Research, directing research, analysis and vote recommendations for U.S. companies and engaging with investors, issuers and other stakeholders.
Previously, he led ISS’ Governance Institute, where he provided research and information around key governance issues and coordinated ISS’ policy development and engagement teams, and co-headed ISS’ Americas research team and led financial sector research, specializing in proxy contests, mergers and issues relating to boards of directors.
He has been a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences sponsored by business groups, investors, and directors.
Sean attended the Catholic University of America and Georgetown University.
Related Service Areas
Memberships & Affiliations
- Former member of the Markets Advisory Council, Council of Institutional Investors
Related Insights
Stuck in the Middle with ESG: What Companies Can Expect in 2025 & Beyond
After a much-anticipated election cycle in the U.S., Republicans will take over the White House and control both chambers of Congress. This shift in power will significantly impact ESG initiatives. While it is too early to determine precisely what those impacts will be, we present our view of the most…
Seven Early Takeaways from the 2024 Proxy Season
With the 2024 US proxy season nearly in the rear-view mirror, a few key trends and takeaways have emerged. Amidst an uncertain regulatory and political landscape, investors have remained supportive of management on average, as indicated by the modest increase in average voting across management proposals. Concurrently, the number of…
Three Key Considerations for Companies Heading into 2024 Proxy Season
The 2024 proxy season is expected to be a challenging period for companies to navigate. The upcoming U.S. presidential election has fueled further political divide on ESG topics, and that political divide continues to complicate the domestic landscape. Outside of the U.S., Europe and other markets continue to mandate company…
2023 Proxy Season Review: Institutional Investor Expectations in a Divided World
The 2023 proxy season reflected a post-pandemic “return to normal” with investors balancing increased focus on financial materiality with ESG considerations. Below are our top 11 takeaways from the 2023 proxy season. 1: Institutional investors go all-in on financial materiality. Walking a thin line in a divided world of ESG,…
Teneo ‘23 & ESG Series: The DNA of 2023 U.S. Sustainability Reports
Since we published our last study on U.S. sustainability reports 12 months ago, political attacks on ESG have escalated heading into the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. As a result, companies are now facing critical questions on how to communicate their ESG strategies and initiatives, especially within…
Communicating Your Company’s ESG Strategy in 2023: Five Tactical Considerations
U.S. companies are facing a new challenge in 2023 – communicating their ESG strategies in the middle of an intense anti-ESG political campaign. To help companies navigate this landscape, we have provided the below key considerations for communicating strategies within 2023 ESG reports, websites, press releases, social media, proxy statements…
(Claw) Back to the Future: Implications of the SEC’s Final Executive Compensation Recovery Rule
On October 28th 2022, the SEC adopted the final compensation-related rule of the Dodd Frank Act, requiring companies to recoup compensation that was previously awarded to certain executives based on false information. Whereas companies were able to implement other Dodd-Frank compensation-related rules without fundamentally changing their pay plans (such as…
Be Careful What You Wish For: Four Potential Consequences of “Pass-Through” Voting for Companies
Earlier this year, Republican Senators introduced the “INDEX” Act that would require passively managed funds to vote proxies in accordance with the instructions from their clients. The proposed bill followed the announcement of BlackRock’s “Voting Choice” initiative that provides clients the option to vote proxies themselves. Vanguard and SSGA have…
More Money, More Problems? How the SEC’s New Executive Compensation Disclosure Rule Could Impact the 2023 Proxy Season
On August 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules on company pay for performance disclosure required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. To help companies prepare for 2023 proxy statements and annual shareholder meetings, we summarize below the key elements of the final rules, how key stakeholders (activists,…
ESG and the Bear: What to Make of the 2022 Proxy Season
The 2022 proxy season was marked by external turbulence with a considerable ESG impact. In the wake of the still ongoing pandemic, companies faced new black swan events such as the war in Ukraine and navigated rising inflation, high oil prices and continued supply chain issues. Executives, directors and even…
Too Soon? An Analysis of Major Investor Comments on the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule
The comment period for the U.S. SEC’s proposed rule on climate-related disclosure ended on June 20th. Thousands of comments were submitted by companies, investors, trade associations and individuals. To help companies plan for their future climate disclosures and shareholder engagement, we have provided a summary of the six (6) issues…
Different Strokes to Move the World? How the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule Impacts the ESG Disclosure Landscape
In a stated desire to standardize company ESG disclosures and provide investors with comparable information, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has proposed its climate-related disclosure rule for U.S. publicly-traded companies and certain foreign issuers. A brief summary of the proposed rule is provided below. We have also analyzed…
They Want Their ESG! Top 10 Questions to Expect From Investors This Proxy Season
Those of a certain age may remember the 1980s “I Want My MTV” campaign demanding that the popular music television station be included in all cable lineups. Over 30 years later, major institutional investors have launched a similar campaign demanding that a different three-letter acronym – ESG – be included…
For Good Measure: Current Best Practices in Tying Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Metrics to Executive Compensation
Amid the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing revolution, companies are currently grappling with how to incorporate ESG measures, particularly those relating to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), into their executive compensation programs. We reviewed 68 companies that disclose DEI metrics in their executive compensation design…
It’s Still Not Easy Being Green: What a Biden Administration Could Mean for ESG Investing & Corporate Governance
A Biden Administration will certainly have a tremendous impact on ESG issues such as climate change, racial justice and healthcare. Consequently, companies are going to be impacted in a variety of ways on ESG issues, ranging from increasing climate regulation and penalties to criminal justice and diversity. Teneo has written…
Corporate Leadership in the Stakeholder Era
Key Takeaways from the New WEF/IBC ESG Disclosure Framework
The rise of ESG investing has resulted in an evolving and sometimes confusing set of ESG acronyms. Companies often struggle to make sense of the hundreds of ESG ratings, rankings, indexes and disclosure frameworks in the marketplace. On September 22nd, the World Economic Forum, the International Business Council and the…
20 For 20: 20 Imperatives for Fall 2020 Shareholder Engagement
The once-in-a-hundred years global pandemic and once-in-a-generation global protests have created a seminal moment for companies and their leaders to reestablish and reinforce the basic tenets by which they run their businesses. The expansiveness of the role of the CEO and the board, as demonstrated by ESG, will continue. The changes…
Stakeholder Capitalism’s First Test
Top 10 Questions Companies Should Expect from Shareholders This Proxy Season and Beyond. Health and safety are obviously the world’s top priorities right now. A number of companies are taking bold action to help mitigate the extraordinary global impacts of the coronavirus crisis. But unlike prior crises, companies are navigating…
Annual Shareholder Meetings and Governance During the COVID-19 Crisis
Key Takeaways Many US companies are considering holding virtual-only shareholder meetings or adding a virtual component to create a hybrid meeting, in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Negative shareholder perception has previously made companies slow to adopt virtual annual meetings, but public health concerns may make them a necessity. The…
SEC Votes to Issue Proposed Rules Addressing Shareholder Proposals and Proxy Advisors
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to issue proposed rules governing the submission and resubmission of shareholder proposals for inclusion in company proxy statements and establishing new regulations for proxy advisory firms. The proposed rules include a wish list of changes long…
SEC Issues New Guidance Affecting Proxy Advisors
On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued new guidance clarifying the role of proxy advisory firms in the voting process. The guidance has important ramifications for proxy advisory firms and the public companies that are the subjects of their research and recommendations. While the August 21st guidance…
Tips for Navigating the 2019 Proxy Season
Think like an activist. Review board composition and governance structure for potential vulnerabilities, make sure you have a defense plan, and understand any changes in your ownership base. Don’t forget corporate culture and purpose. One of the successful activist campaigns last year was the Vote-No Campaign that Elaine Wynn launched…
Market Volatility and the Effects on Corporate Governance
Teneo’s Martha Carter, Head of Governance Advisory, and Matt Filosa and Sean Quinn, both senior members of Teneo’s Governance Advisory team, discuss the continued market volatility and its effects on corporate governance and ESG issues, including advice on how a company’s institutional investors may view issues such as executive compensation,…
Is Your Company Being Underrated? Understanding the Impact of Your Organization’s ESG Ratings
You have heard of ISS. You have heard of Glass Lewis. But have you heard of Sustanalytics? RobecoSAM? RepRisk? These are firms that specialize in rating how companies manage the risks of environmental, social and governance issues. Like better known proxy advisors, these ESG firms can have significant impact on…
Corporate Governance Update
November was a busy month for corporate governance, including: (i) newly proposed legislation on proxy advisory firms; (ii) SEC proxy voting roundtable held on November 15th; and (iii) updated ISS and Glass Lewis proxy policies announced in November. See our September client insight on proxy advisor regulatory reform for related…