Society Of Corporate Secretaries And Governance Professionals Elects New Chairman And Directors; SEC Commissioner Paredes Addresses Society

The Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals elected Kenneth L. Wagner of Peabody Energy Corporation as Society chairman for the 2012-13 year. Mr. Wagner was elected at the Society's annual meeting, which took place at its 66th National Conference in Washington DC.

Mr. Wagner is vice president, assistant general counsel, assistant secretary and chief compliance officer of Peabody Energy Corporation. He leads the Peabody Law Department's Corporate and Governance Group, which is responsible for, among other things, advising the board of directors and senior management on corporate governance, SEC and NYSE compliance and reporting, risk management, investor relations and executive compensation.

Wendi S. Bickett was elected chairman-elect for 2012-13. Ms. Bickett is assistant corporate secretary of Enterprise Products Partners and is the outgoing chair of the Society's Educational Programs Committee.

The following Society members were elected to its board of directors: Scott W. Andreasen, vice president and secretary of H&R Block; Rhonda L. Carroll, senior vice president, chief compliance officer & secretary of Encore Bancshares; Keir D. Gumbs, partner with Covington & Burling; Susan Permut, senior vice president & deputy general counsel of EMC Corporation; Steven H. Shapiro, partner of Pircher, Nichols & Meeks; and Carol V. Schwartz, secretary & corporate governance officer of American Express.

SEC Commissioner Troy Paredes addressed conference attendees immediately following the Society's annual meeting. Mr. Paredes gave an SEC update focusing on the future of the Commission's rulemaking regime. He said that the process needs to be robust and should take into consideration unintended consequences as well as the costs and benefits of a proposed rule to ensure that the Commission ends up with "smart regulation.”