What's Ahead for CEOs

The year is 2017, and the past decade has been a bruiser for Corporate America on the governance and regulatory fronts. Shareholders now have unprecedented access to proxies, and regularly nominate their own candidates for director seats, giving annual elections-staggered board terms are obsolete-a

With a new cadre of hostile directors-each representing his or her own special interests-some boards look and act more like a fractured Congress than professional decision-making bodies. There are advisory boards that provide nonbinding "guidance" to managements in areas like workplace safety and the environment.

Investors also have won the right to insert themselves into parts of the business that once were considered the province of management, such as setting dividends and other capital-management tasks. And in a few notable situations, companies have been forced from lucrative businesses, such as nuclear power, thanks to shareholder-orchestrated votes. With oversight taking on an initiative-and-referendum-style political look, some wonder, why even have a board?