Yale School of Management Creates Global Research Institution for Corporate Governance

New Haven, CT, April 3, 2002 - The Yale School of Management is opening a new research and teaching center to study Corporate Governance worldwide and the relationship between legal regulatory frameworks and the global economy. The Yale School of Management International Institute for Corporate Governance (IICG) was inaugurated by World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn in a ceremony today on the business school campus. Mr. Wolfensohn also was awarded the annual Yale School of Management International Center for Finance award for his contributions to business and society.

Mission: The IICG has a four-fold mission. It will conduct research, build capacity in the private and public sector through teaching and advising on corporate governance, disseminate best practices internationally, and interact with academic institutions throughout the world. 

Ira M. Millstein will chair the institute's Advisory Board and continues as the Eugene F. Williams, Jr. Visiting Professor in Competitive Enterprise and Strategy at Yale's business school. He is also Senior Partner in the law firm, Weil, Gotshal, and Manges L.L.P. in New York City.

Research Goals:
The institute's research will work on comparative corporate governance and its implications for the structure of the firms, capital markets, and the economy. The research will be divided into five broad areas:

1. The structure and effects of investor protection on the cost of capital and the development of financial markets
2. The structure of the firm's internal mechanisms of corporate control, such as disclosure, standards, boards of directors and committees
3. The structure of laws and litigation, including the role of courts and market regulators
4. Financial intermediaries and financial crises
5. Corporate governance reform and institutional change

The ultimate goal is to have an integrated view of the differences in legal and regulatory frameworks and a perspective on the relationship between the private sector and the government and its systematic and measurable differences in terms of governance structures.

Ira M. Millstein is the Eugene F. Williams, Jr. Visiting Professor in Competitive Enterprises and Strategy at the Yale School of Management where he teaches "Corporate Governance" and serves as an Advisory Board member. He is senior partner in the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York City and a leading expert on antitrust, government regulation, and corporate governance matters. Professor Millstein has authored books and numerous articles in his areas of expertise. He has served on Commissions under Presidents Nixon and Carter, and under New York's Governor Cuomo, and is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He most recently Co-chaired the NYSE/NASDAQ/SEC sponsored Blue Ribbon Committee on Improving the Effectiveness of Corporate Audit Committees, and currently serves as Counsel to the Board of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation charged with developing the World Trade Center site and surrounding areas. He serves on the newly-formed board of "The Yale SOM - Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Nonprofit Ventures." He chairs the Private Sector Advisory Group of The World Bank/OECD Global Corporate Governance Forum.

For an interview with Professor Millstein, contact Yale SOM Media Relations at 203-432-6010 or som.extra@yale.edu