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The Corporate Directors Club, with nearly 600 members nationwide, today announced the first program for Professional Director Certification. Directors of public companies are under increased pressure and scrutiny since Sarbanes-Oxley and there is a growing need for well educated, skilled and experienced professional directors. The Corporate Directors Club, whose membership is open to all directors and CEOs of public companies, free of charge, sponsors a full schedule of educational and social events across the country for its members.

Yahoo!Finance: Professional Director Certification Announced for Public Company Directors

The new world of corporate governance, in the view of Securities and Exchange Commissioner Roel Campos, is one in which Sarbanes-Oxley rules governing companies become more commonplace and affordable as shareholders continue to demand and receive more say over how companies are run.

“It’s what I see,” Campos said of the democratization trend with shareholders in a speech to the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors Tuesday. “I don’t think there’s anything to fear. It’s here to stay. Activists are going to be involved and try to influence decision-making.”

He outlined what he saw as growing opposition to staggered boards and poison pills, which make companies more resistant to takeover bids. He also expects to see more companies move to majority voting on boards, rather than the plurality that is now the standard, requiring only that a director get more shareholder votes than others to be elected.

Business Journal: SEC commissioner: Shareholder rights activism ‘here to stay’