When’s the best time to start thinking about next year’s proxy season? If you ask the best-prepared corporate secretaries, that planning process starts as early as the end of the previous year’s, particularly if you have to rethink your process in any form.
As the fulcrum of any company’s communication with shareholders and wider stakeholders, the proxy statement has evolved to become more than just a regulatory fulfilment: many of 2025’s proxy statements conveyed much more about a given organization’s purpose, message and strategy. And, as 2025’s proxy season has taught us, companies are coming under even more scrutiny over how they operate and the values that they adhere to.
Which is why Governance Intelligence has spoken to some of the industry’s leading governance professionals – many of them winners of the best proxy trophy at our annual awards – to determine how to make sure your company has the right processes in place for your 2026 proxy statement process.
Among them are leading lights like Kristen Conley, head of corporate governance and board engagement with the office of the corporate secretary at Nasdaq, and Heidi Miller, corporate secretary and deputy general counsel for corporate governance and securities at Kraft Heinz.
From them, we have pulled together a series of tips for how to set the schedule for your next proxy statement preparation process and collated the best advice for making sure internal teams are collaborating effectively.
There are also examples of cutting-edge design and content developments from those leading governance teams, insights into how to harmonize your company’s disclosures across the board and a step-by-step guide for how to get the most from your external partners and technology providers as a part of those processes.
The full playbook – titled ‘Building an effective creation process for your proxy statement’ – was written in association with DFIN, an organization that is well versed in the art of pulling together a comprehensive proxy statement for a vast range of companies.
‘Clearly, every company handles the process for creating their proxy statement differently,’ said Ron Schneider, director of corporate governance services at DFIN.
‘But the common themes are coming through, which are: start early, it’s not episodic but more of a year-round process; have the right internal and external teams and, if there were any weaknesses in those teams in the prior year, address those before next year’s process; and set expectations and timelines early.’
So – with apologies to governance teams who are yearning for a rest after seeing off 2025’s proxy season – there really is no better time to start on next year’s statement than right now. To find out more, read the full playbook right here.
Laurie Havelock
Laurie has been with IR Impact for over a decade, becoming editor in 2023 after roles as a reporter and research editor. He moderates events and serves as MC for global awards. Previously, he was acting business editor at the i newspaper and deputy...
