In quest of (corporate) purpose

• Department of Law

The Finance, Innovation and Business Regulation Working Group hosts a session with Professor Colin Mayer (University of Oxford).

Shareholder primacy, or the prioritisation of shareholders' wealth maximisation in business management, is widely seen as a major cause of capitalism's failures. The sustainability crisis is compelling policymakers to reconsider this approach. Progressive regulations in Western economies now require large corporations to investigate, disclose and mitigate their environmental and human rights impacts. However, are these measures sufficient to ensure the construction of a truly sustainable economic system? This doubt prompts further critical questions: what is, and should be, the role of corporations in contemporary society? Should profit be the primary purpose of business? Can corporate governance contribute to align private and public interests? What role do financial institutions have to play? And how can the law contribute to addressing this challenge?

This session will discuss these and other relevant topics with Professor Colin Mayer, who has dedicated a great part of his career to promoting a reconceptualisation of the purpose of business, working at the intersection of finance, management, sociology and law.