Directors are more likely to obtain additional directorships, especially at prestigious firms, if the CEOs of their current boards are well-connected. Recommended directors do not become beholden to the CEO, as CEO compensation is unaffected and an analysis of appointment announcement returns...

We examine the value impact of independent directors nominated by activists (Activist IDs). Firms appointing Activist IDs experience larger value increases than firms appointing other directors, particularly when Activist IDs have private firm experience and when their nominators remain as...

We examine how friendly boards affect firm innovation. Using CEO-director social connections as a measure of board friendliness, we find that firms with friendly boards create more patents and citations. The positive relation between friendly boards and innovation are more pronounced when firms'...