On January 24 and 25, 2019, the Center for Mathematical Sciences organized a conference on distributed ledger technology (blockchain). The conference aimed to cover a wide range of topics, from abstract mathematical aspects (cryptography, game theory, graph theory, theoretical computer science) to concrete applications (in accounting, government, economics, finance, management, medicine).

Speaker: Anne Lafarre, Tilburg University

Title: Modernizing corporate governance: Blockchain as a solution?

Summary: Blockchain is a technology that can potentially provide solutions to classic corporate governance inefficiencies, especially in the relationship between shareholders, boards of directors and the company. For example, Annual General Meetings (AGMs) are generally regarded as boring, obligatory annual rituals and their important theoretical functions (the information, forum and decision-making functions) are de facto eroded. In a keynote address to the Council of Institutional Investors, Vice Chancellor Laster called Delaware's system of voting and shareholder involvement "absurd" and recommended blockchain technology to solve the problems. Recent prototypes of blockchain-based AGMs, including Broadridge's blockchain patent for a blockchain-based proxy voting system, may demonstrate that blockchain technology as a shareholder participation tool is feasible in practice.

This presentation, after a brief introduction to the basics of corporate governance, addresses the barriers to the current corporate governance system, in particular shareholder voting and engagement systems, with a special focus on the US and Europe. The application of blockchain is then examined: would this technology, as Vice Chancellor Laster indicates, indeed offer an important and relevant solution to current corporate governance issues?

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