Podcasts about Southern Company

Darrell Thompson, PFRPA Board Chair and Retired NFL Player About the 3rd Annual PFRPA Champions Banquet The 3rd Annual PFRPA Champions Banquet will take place on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The event is open to the public. The Banquet celebrates retired NFL players who are making a positive impact, as well as individuals who have made significant contributions to the communities they serve. All proceeds from the PFRPA Champions Banquet will go to support the PFRPA Greater Good Fund. Award Winners: The PFRPA Champions Award will be presented to: Brian Jordan, Ovie Mughelli, and Matt Ryan. About PFRPA • Pro Football Retired Players Association was established to benefit all retired NFL players.• PFRPA provides impactful benefits, programs and initiatives to better the lives of more than 10,000 retired NFL players and more than 3,000 of their spouses.• The PFRPA Greater Good Fund is PFRPA's 501(c)(3) charitable foundation• Benefits: PFRPA's two primary offerings are the PFRPA Dental Plan and the PFRPA Vision Plan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Southern Company is a proud partner of the Tour Championship & the Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rich Lerner stops by the SO COOL Zone presented by Southern Company to talk about the TOUR Championship and his new book, Aren't You That Golf Guy? - Doglegs and Detours from a Life in the Game. Rich Lerner's lively collection of golf stories is a love letter to a game that is as elusive as it is emotionally transformative. From his early days working at his father’s driving range with his three brothers to his three decades covering golf’s biggest stars and most historic championships, Rich Lerner has lived a lucky life in golf. He went from rubbing shoulders with hard-drinking, Allentown golf pros in the ’70s to playing his first money match (against “The Pigeon”) to crossing paths with Arnie to a circuitous route to the Golf Channel just as Tiger Woods arrived on the scene.In Aren't You That Golf Guy?, Golf Channel’s master storyteller shares decades of his best stories. It's funny, provocative, poignant and personal, with deep dives on Tiger, Rory, Phil, Jack, and Arnie, plus hilarious celebrity encounters with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Will Ferrell, not to mention bawdy tales from the driving range.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He's the recipient of the 2026 Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company and there is no one more deserving! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ilham Askia serves as the President & CEO of the East Lake Foundation where she is responsible for leading the Foundation’s strategic vision and ongoing work with East Lake Initiative partners to ensure progress towards the Foundation’s mission. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Cellini and Chris Dimino talk everything Atlanta Sports, the National Sports picture and the current (and WAY back when) in pop culture! Get the latest and your fill of Atlanta Braves, Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Hawks daily from two "Southern" Yankees daily Mon-Fri from 10a-2p! The 12 o'clock hour is brought to you by SCANA Energy, the Official Natural Gas Partner of Georgia Tech. Covering The Bases - Braves getting AJSS back! Today In Baseball History Drive Across The Sports World See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's time to turn our attention to the TOUR Championship which starts next Thursday at East Lake. But before we do that, lets talk about the Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company, which was given to our dear friend Notah Begay III. Chris Womack, Chairman, President & CEO Southern Company joins us to discuss it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alumni Weekend is back at Truist Park August 14-15 presented by your local Ford dealer. Fans can look forward to Alumni autograph sessions, an on-field presentation, the legends parade and more fun throughout! Greg McMichael joins us in studio to tell us all about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shares of Coca-Cola hit an all-time high on the back of results. CEO Henrique Braun sits down for his first interview since taking over the job, live from the company's headquarters in Atlanta. Then the CEO of UPS on the back of results and the “glide down” of its business with Amazon. And the CEO of utility Southern Company, on the data center buildout and power demand. Squawk on the Street Disclaimer Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Adam Beissel is Associate Professor of Sports Leadership & Management at Miami University(OH) and had an incredible journey of North America during this Summer's World Cup. Inside the world's largest World Cup: What could only be learned by being thereSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He is the only full-blooded American Indian to ever play on the PGA TOUR, and he won four times, all within a span of nine months.And while back injuries derailed the playing career of Notah Begay III, they hardly kept him from the much larger role he continues to play in the lives of so many young people on the golf course and far beyond.All of that wonderful labor of love has led Notah, who played with Tiger Woods at Stanford University, to earning the treasured Payne Stewart Award presented by Southern Company.Join Notah as we discuss the Award, his outstanding work at NBC Sports and Golf Channel, and what his Foundation continues to accomplish. Plus, we look at the amazing victory by Jackson Koivun on Sunday at the PGA TOUR'S 3M Open.

-The best golfers in the world will compete for the FedExCup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta on August 26-30. -You can buy tickets now for the TOUR Championship at: tourchampionship.com -Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, and recent major winners Wyndham Clark and Ryan Fox are among the golfers on the path to East Lake in late August. -The TOUR Championship has now raised more than $71 million for local nonprofits since the event was first staged at East Lake Golf Club in 1998. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Willie Spears, M. Ed., is a highly sought after speaker, critically acclaimed author, educator, and coach who has taken the country by storm with his passionate, energetic, and hilarious approach to teaching life management skills. Through a significant social media presence and an average of 20 presentations per month across multiple states, The Willie Spears Experience has become a trusted source of inspiration.As the lead servant of The Willie Spears Experience LLC, Coach Spears, along with his dedicated team, has added substantial value to hundreds of organizations, schools, colleges, universities and teams. Additionally, he has shared his expertise with several Fortune 500 companies, including State Farm, McDonald's and the Southern Company. Mr. Spears is captivating audiences globally through powerful and interactive presentations that are focused on motivation, leadership, and professional development.Welcome to the Pinkleton Pull-Aside Podcast. On this podcast, let's step aside from our busy lives to have fun, fascinating life-giving conversation with inspiring authors, pastors, sports personalities and other influencers, leaders and followers. Sit back, grab some coffee, or head down the road and let's get the good and the gold from today's guest. Our host is Jeff Pinkleton, Executive Director of the Gathering of the Miami Valley, where their mission is to connect men to men, and men to God. You can reach Jeff at GatheringMV.org or find him on Facebook at The Gathering of the Miami Valley.

On The Business of Sports, Dan Corso joins Cellini & Dimino to discuss the overwhelming success of the World Cup as well as Atlanta's ability to host premiere international sporting eventsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Epps just recently took over for the legendary Gary Stokan as CEO of the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl and it's time to check in to see how things are going thus far. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whoever you ask, you are likely find broad agreement that the world needs more energy infrastructure. Whether you are worried about ensuring secure supplies, powering new data centres, or cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the answer is most often going to be investing in new assets: power plants, transmission lines, factories, pipelines, ports… the list goes on. But all too often, getting big projects built is painfully slow, expensive and unpredictable. It is particularly difficult in high-income countries, and perhaps in the US most of all.For this episode, host Ed Crooks and regular guest Dr. Melissa Lott are joined by Craig Albert, the President and COO of Bechtel, one of the world's biggest engineering and construction companies. Together, they discuss the critical problems that get in the way of infrastructure projects, and what businesses and governments can do to get past them.First off, Craig acknowledges that the problems in the system all reflect good intentions. Communities, safety, the environment and local impacts all deserve scrutiny. The problem, especially in the US, is that the process used to take all those factors into account when approving large projects is slow, fragmented and uncertain. The result is that it pushes up costs, delays revenue, creates financing risk, and ultimately slows progress towards energy security and a lower-carbon energy system.The conversation digs into the role of trust and certainty in decision-making. Once a project has been assessed and approved, how do you stop it from being endlessly revisited? Craig argues that some aspects of the US system create particular difficulties. Other developed countries have shown that infrastructure projects can be brought in on time and on budget. Craig cites the Western Sydney International Airport project, which moved from site selection to full construction approval in just two and a half years. In the US, he says, the same process could easily take eight to ten.The discussion then turns to nuclear power, and the lessons from the two new AP1000 reactors built at the Vogtle plant in Georgia. Craig calls Southern Company and Georgia Power “national heroes” for taking on the first greenfield US nuclear project in decades, but he is candid about what went wrong. His biggest takeaway is the importance of deeply integrated EPC: engineering, procurement and construction working as one system from the start. He also stresses the need for earlier investment in workforce training, stronger supply-chain visibility and better sequencing to reduce costly reworks.From there, Ed and Melissa widen the lens to look at other energy sectors. Craig explains why the US LNG industry offers a more hopeful model of projects delivered without huge cost overruns and multi-year delays. In that industry the construction companies are building repeated, standardised projects, with integrated delivery, and a relentless focus on finding and fixing bottlenecks. Bechtel has delivered dozens of LNG trains, he says, all on schedule and within budget, while still improving speed from one project to the next. Similar lessons apply in solar, where scale, automation and better execution are helping push installation rates sharply higher.But policy and project design are only part of the story. Craig argues that workforce is the other great constraint. If every new power plant, grid upgrade, semiconductor fab and airport ultimately depends on skilled craft labour, then the US has to start treating those jobs with the respect they deserve. Restoring the status of skilled trades is not just a cultural issue. It is essential to the country's ability to build, Craig says. The closing message is both practical and cautionary: if the US wants more energy security, more electricity for AI and data centres, and faster progress on decarbonisation, it has to get much better at building. That means fixing permitting, reducing project uncertainty, investing earlier in supply chains, and treating skilled labour as a strategic asset, rather than an afterthought.This episode of Energy Gang is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at engieresources.com.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the Aspen Ideas Festival, host Tammy Haddad talks to top AI leaders, economists and energy leaders about whether AI's economic boom is lifting everyone, or just the top. Featuring: Chris Womack, Chairman, President & CEO, Southern Company, Lael Brainard, Former Director, National Economic Council, and former Vice Chair, Board of Governors, and Benedict Macon-Cooney, Chief Innovation Officer, Tony Blair Institute. 

Johnny's Hideaway is an Atlanta institution and as we celebrate all things America heading into the Fourth of July holiday, there's nothing more American than Johnny's Hideaway!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rich Kenah, CEO, Atlanta Track Club The 57th Running of the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race For the first time in more than 50 years, the Peachtree has a new title partner. The 57th Running of the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race will continue the iconic Fourth of July tradition bringing more than 60,000 runners and walkers to the streets of Atlanta for the world's largest 10K. This year is a historic moment, as the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary and Atlanta prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rick Ruiz, President, American Hole 'n One Insurance hio.com American Hole 'n One Insurance is the world’s largest and most trusted provider of golf prize coverage for over 35 years. 680 The Fan has worked with American Hole ‘n One for decades, including every single Buck & Kincade Classic. Rick is an entrepreneur and marketing strategist at the intersection of sports, risk, and high-impact promotions. He specializes in designing creative prize campaigns — from million-dollar shots to national promotional contests — that drive engagement and revenue for brands across the country. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are 43 years of decisions compressed into this episode.And if you work in energy, utilities, infrastructure, manufacturing, or public policy, it's worth your attention.Tom Fanning spent four decades at Southern Company, including 13 years as CEO, helping guide one of the largest and most influential power companies in the United States through extraordinary change. Along the way, he oversaw everything from international development and grid modernization to cyber security and the completion of Vogtle, the first new commercial nuclear plant built in America in more than 30 years.In this special Energy Empire x SunCast collaboration, Jigar Shah and Nico Johnson sit down with Tom to explore what it actually takes to build large-scale infrastructure in America.If you heard this conversation first on Energy Empire, we're excited to bring it to the SunCast audience as well.The conversation begins with Vogtle, but quickly expands into a broader discussion about leadership, national competitiveness, energy markets, workforce development, cyber security, and the future of the electric grid.Tom shares why he believes "vision and courage" remain the most important ingredients in building transformational projects, why organized electricity markets struggle to support long-duration infrastructure investments, and why America needs a coherent national energy strategy if it hopes to meet growing demand from AI, manufacturing, and electrification.Expect to learn:

Ted Ryan, Archives & Heritage Brand ManagerFord Motor Company The year marked the 60th anniversary of Ford’s historic 1-2-3 sweep over Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. 24 Hours of Le Mans 2026 was this past weekend in France. Ted was there with a cool exhibit commemorating the event. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BLW is America's first professional wiffle ball league, bringing the backyard game to the big stage with elite athletes, live broadcasts, and a growing national fanbase. This summer, BLW returns for its second professional season. All regular-season and playoff games will be played in Atlanta at Assembly Studios in Doraville, with an All-Star Game in St. Louis and the World Series in Orlando. The season kicked off this past Sunday, June 7th, and runs through August, featuring weekly Sunday game days with live broadcasts on ESPN+ and ESPN2. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 18th Annual Atlanta Braves All-American Blood Drive is June 2nd – 30th at multiple locations! Presenting blood donors will get TWO Braves tickets, a Delta stadium bag & a special t-shirt while supplies last. Visit redcrossblood.org/give and use sponsor code DeltaATL to sign up for an appointment and help save lives. Garrett Reid is the Regional Donor Services Executive for the Red Cross of Georgia where he oversees blood drive operations and whole blood collectionsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 62 - Paul Leath from Southern Company Gas by Scout On, Chattanooga: The Podcast

Atlanta has been named the Number One city in the U.S. for Sports Business by Sports Business Journal and Dan Corso, President, Atlanta Sports Council. The World Cup is only three weeks away. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The State Summer Games are upon us this weekend at Emory University and we get the skinny from Georgia Milton-Sheats on what to expect and what it takes to make this incredible event happen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Indoor Football League is coming to Athens! Todd Tryon, Indoor Football League Commissioner, joins us to give us the 4-1-1!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Womack is chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, one of the largest investor-owned, regulated utility holding companies in the US. Its electric and gas subsidiaries serve more than 9 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee.  In this episode, co-host Dan Testa sits down with Womack to discuss the many issues facing the US power industry, including how utility capital spending impacts affordability, federal loan guarantees, coal-fired power plant extensions, as well as rising power demand forecasts driven by data centers and AI.

Chris Womack is chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, one of the largest investor-owned, regulated utility holding companies in the US. Its electric and gas subsidiaries serve more than 9 million customers in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi and Tennessee.  In this episode, co-host Dan Testa sits down with Womack to discuss the many issues facing the US power industry, including how utility capital spending impacts affordability, federal loan guarantees, coal-fired power plant extensions, as well as rising power demand forecasts driven by data centers and AI.

Shareholder Advocacy in 2026: A Season Defined by Upheaval and Resilience *A deeper look at the key themes and proposals in the Proxy Preview 2026 report by As You Sow and Proxy Impact* The 2026 proxy season is arriving amid one of the most turbulent regulatory environments shareholder advocates have faced in decades. Actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Chair Paul Atkins have introduced a series of new barriers to shareholder participation — limiting who can file resolutions, restricting exempt solicitations on EDGAR, and signaling a broader retreat from the corporate disclosure requirements that have defined the modern era of investor oversight. Filing thresholds have been quietly tightened. The procedural goalposts have moved. And the agency that once served as a neutral referee on what does and does not belong on a proxy ballot has, in practice, stepped off the field. And yet, shareholders are not retreating. As Proxy Preview publisher Andrew Behar puts it, they are “standing shoulder to shoulder” — the early warning system that corporations have long relied on, whether they admit it or not. The proposals filed this year are, if anything, more ambitious than in seasons past. Investors are not waiting to see how the regulatory landscape settles. They are filing, litigating, and engaging on the assumption that the right to ask questions about material risk is theirs to exercise regardless of who chairs the SEC. This year’s Proxy Preview, produced by As You Sow and Proxy Impact, offers a sweeping look at the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) proposals headed to shareholder votes in 2026. The themes range from the data center buildout reshaping America’s electricity grid, to the legal liabilities mounting against Big Tech, to the quiet but consequential question of who gets to decide what counts as “proper business” at an annual meeting. Here’s what investors need to know. The Political and Legal Backdrop The story of the 2026 season cannot be told without first addressing what happened to the SEC’s no-action process. Historically, when a company wanted to exclude a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement, it would file a no-action request with the SEC, which would review the proposal on its merits and issue guidance. That process — imperfect but functional — was effectively suspended this year, triggered in part by a prolonged government shutdown that left the agency without the bandwidth to render decisions. The result was a free-for-all. Companies, sensing an opening, filed notices of intent to exclude proposals on a range of novel theories. The most aggressive of these was the so-called “Delaware Proper Business” argument, which holds that advisory shareholder proposals — the non-binding resolutions that have been the backbone of shareholder advocacy for decades — are not “proper business” for an annual meeting under Delaware corporate law. If accepted, that theory would effectively wipe out the entire category. Shareholders pushed back, hard. Lawsuits were filed against AT&T, Axon, Chubb, BJ’s Wholesale, and PepsiCo. AT&T and Pepsi settled quickly, restoring the proposals to their proxies. At Axon, a federal court ordered the parties to explore a negotiated resolution rather than rule on the merits — a signal that judges are skeptical of the broad exclusion theories companies have been advancing. The Chubb and BJ’s cases remain in active litigation as of this writing. Meanwhile, in a parallel front, a federal court struck down Texas Senate Bill 13 — the state’s anti-ESG law that restricted public pension funds from doing business with financial firms deemed to “boycott” fossil fuel companies — as unconstitutionally overbroad and vague. It is the first federal court decision to invalidate this type of statute, and it sets up a potential precedent that could unwind similar laws in roughly a dozen other states. The pattern, taken together, is clear. Where companies and state legislatures have tried to use procedural and legal tools to silence shareholder voice, the courts have so far been unwilling to go along. Climate: Data Centers, Stranded Assets, and Insurance If there is one new climate story dominating the 2026 season, it is the AI buildout. The numbers are striking. In 2025, the number of proposed fossil gas plants in the U.S. nearly tripled, driven almost entirely by soaring electricity demand from new data centers. Utilities that had been quietly retiring coal and gas capacity are now reversing course, citing grid commitments to hyperscale tech customers as the rationale. Investors are responding. Proposals at Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet request disclosure on how the companies’ growing data center operations are compatible with their previously announced climate commitments — many of which include net-zero pledges that look increasingly difficult to reconcile with multi-gigawatt computing expansion. Similar proposals target the utility side of the equation, including Dominion Energy and Southern Company, both of which are major suppliers to data center hubs in Virginia and Georgia. At the same time, the U.S. is in the middle of a climate-driven insurance crisis that is starting to attract serious investor attention. Insured natural-catastrophe losses reached $117 billion in 2024 — more than double the ten-year average. Homeowners insurance premiums rose 24% between 2021 and 2024, and entire ZIP codes in California, Florida, and Louisiana have effectively become uninsurable on the private market. As You Sow has filed a novel “subrogation” proposal at Chubb, asking the insurer to explore using subrogation claims against large emitters to offset climate-related losses. The legal theory borrows from the playbook used against tobacco and opioid manufacturers: if you can identify the parties whose conduct caused the harm, you can pursue them for the cost of paying out claims. Climate transition planning remains a critical investor concern more broadly. Proposals at Harley-Davidson and Verizon push these companies — both of which have ambitious net-zero commitments but published no sustainability reports in 2025 — to develop credible, stand-alone transition plans. The implicit argument is that a target without a plan is not a commitment; it is a press release. Biodiversity: Horseshoe Crabs and Avocado Supply Chains Two of the most distinctive proposals this season concern biodiversity, and both illustrate how shareholder advocacy can move industries that regulators have not. The pharmaceutical industry’s dependence on horseshoe crab blood for drug safety testing is under fresh scrutiny. The compound extracted from the crabs — limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL — is used to detect bacterial endotoxins in injectable drugs and implantable medical devices. Each year, roughly 1.1 million horseshoe crabs are harvested and bled, with the industry historically claiming low post-bleeding mortality. Independent research suggests the actual mortality rate is closer to 30%, with knock-on effects for shorebirds and other species that depend on horseshoe crab eggs as a food source. Synthetic alternatives — recombinant Factor C, or rFC — have been commercially available since 2003 and are used routinely by Eli Lilly and others. The U.S. Pharmacopeia, the standards body that governs pharmaceutical testing in the U.S., updated its standards in November 2024 to place rFC on equal regulatory footing with the animal-derived test. That removes the last meaningful technical barrier to transition. Proposals at Abbott and Merck request disclosure about transition timelines. The avocado story is, in some ways, a more hopeful one — a case study in what sustained shareholder engagement can accomplish over time. Mexican avocado production has long been linked to illegal deforestation, with growers clearing protected forest in Michoacán to plant new orchards. As You Sow’s decade-long push for Pro Forest Avocado (PFA) certification — a satellite-based system that monitors orchards in real time for evidence of land-use change — has transformed the supply chain. As of March 2026, over 60 Mexican avocado packers are PFA-certified, and major U.S. retailers including Costco, Walmart, and Kroger have committed to sourcing from certified suppliers. The notable holdout is Albertsons, which has not responded to repeated engagement requests and is the focus of a 2026 proposal. Social: Human Rights, Surveillance, and Child Safety Big Tech is facing what Michael Passoff of Proxy Impact calls its “Big Tobacco moment” — the period when accumulating evidence of harm crosses the threshold from controversial to legally actionable, and the financial consequences begin to compound. The numbers from the past twelve months are difficult to dismiss. In March 2026, Meta was found guilty of violating New Mexico’s consumer protection law and penalized $375 million for its handling of minors on Instagram. Separately, a California court found Meta and Google guilty of creating addictive platform designs that harm young users’ mental health, in a verdict that is likely to be the template for similar cases in other states. Meta’s stock dropped 8% following the verdicts, suggesting the market is finally beginning to price in legal risk that shareholders have been flagging for years. On surveillance, investors at Alphabet/Google and Home Depot are pressing for oversight of customer and user data. The specific concerns are concrete. Home Depot cameras installed in parking lots have, according to public reporting, enabled ICE raids targeting day laborers. Google was hit with a $425.7 million verdict for tracking 98 million users after they had explicitly turned location tracking off. In both cases, the proposals ask not for the companies to change their business models, but for the boards to take responsibility for the data practices their products create. New this year, and likely to attract significant attention: a proposal at Palantir asking the company to conduct a Human Rights Impact Assessment related to its products and services. The proposal follows reports that Palantir’s software is being used by ICE to track and target migrants, including in operations that have separated families and detained individuals without prior criminal records. Palantir has historically resisted human rights disclosure on the grounds that its government contracts are confidential; the proposal tests whether shareholders can compel disclosure of the broader policy framework even when specific contract terms remain under seal. Political Spending and Lobbying Corporate political spending is under heightened scrutiny as the 2026 midterm elections approach. The Center for Political Accountability (CPA), which has been the leading shareholder voice on this issue for two decades, filed disclosure proposals at 29 companies this proxy season. The proposals ask for disclosure of corporate political contributions, including those made to trade associations and other intermediaries that often serve as a workaround for direct disclosure requirements. What is striking is the response. Despite the SEC’s effective invitation to exclude most shareholder proposals this year, only 7 of the 29 companies chose to do so. The other 22 let the proposals proceed to a vote — a tacit acknowledgment that the political risk of being seen to suppress shareholder voice on political spending now outweighs the cost of disclosure. The CPA proposal averaged 41.4% support over 13 votes in 2025, including five majority votes, putting it well above the threshold at which boards typically engage seriously with proponents. The lobbying disclosure campaign also continues, though with a revised proposal structure following a 2025 setback when the SEC sided with Air Products and Chemicals on a technical exclusion argument. The new, streamlined proposal — focused on direct federal and state lobbying amounts and third-party recipients — is being filed at 7 companies including Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley. The narrower scope is designed to be procedurally bulletproof, leaving the substantive question — should a public company tell its owners how much it spends to influence legislation — on the table for shareholders to answer. Governance: Board Accountability and Executive Pay Several governance proposals this season cut to the question of what boards are actually responsible for. Shareholders are requesting that boards provide specific oversight of AI development, climate change, Indigenous peoples’ rights, and data protection — areas where the gap between executive decision-making and board supervision has become particularly wide. A notable Vote No campaign: NYC Pension Funds, the third-largest public pension system in the country, urged Starbucks shareholders to vote against the re-election of two directors, citing over 700 unfair labor practice charges, 60 adverse administrative law decisions, and the quiet disbanding of a labor relations oversight committee that had been formed in response to earlier shareholder pressure. The campaign is significant not only for its scale but for the specificity of its case: this is not a general grievance about management, but a documented record of regulatory findings the directors are charged with overseeing. A new executive compensation proposal at Meta links CEO and executive bonuses to improvements in child safety metrics — a direct response to the company’s mounting legal liability over platform harms to minors. The proposal is structurally interesting because it does not ask the company to take any specific action; it asks only that the compensation committee tie pay to outcomes the company itself has acknowledged as material. If child safety is, as Meta has repeatedly stated in public, a top priority, then linking executive pay to it should be uncontroversial. The vote will reveal whether the board agrees. The Bottom Line The 2026 proxy season is, more than anything, a test of whether shareholders can maintain their voice in corporate governance amid a hostile regulatory environment. The evidence so far is encouraging. When companies have tried to unilaterally exclude proposals, they have largely faced legal challenges and backed down. When state legislatures have tried to penalize ESG-aligned investing, federal courts have intervened. When boards have tried to ignore mounting legal liability, the markets have begun to do the disciplining themselves. As shareholder advocate Nell Minow writes, the likely cost-benefit analysis from executives “who thought they could keep the proposals from going to a shareholder vote was not clear to them until they faced the very real possibility that a court ruling on the legitimacy of the challenged proposal would be a much bigger problem.” In other words: the bet that the SEC’s retreat would translate into a free hand for management has not paid off. The deterrents have simply moved from the regulator to the courts and the proxy ballot itself. Fundamental ownership rights — the right to ask questions about material risks — are not granted by regulators. They are inherent to ownership itself. The 2026 season is shaping up to be the year that principle gets tested, and so far, it is holding. — *Sources: Proxy Preview 2026, published by As You Sow and Proxy Impact. Full report available at [proxypreview.org](https://www.proxypreview.org/).*

The Mitsubishi Electric Classic is underway at Sugarloaf and it's time to talk golf technology with the co-founder, CEO and Cheif Technology Officer of Newton Golf, the leader in shaft innovation. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The GA Swarm are postseason bound and host a quarterfinal battle with the defending NLL champs, the Buffalo Bandits this Saturday night at Gas South Arena! GeorgiaSwarm.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dale Gordon DeSena, Founder & CEO, Taste of Atlanta Taste of Atlanta is back with the ultimate food & beverage tasting event this Thursday, Aporil 16th at The Works on the Upper Westside. TasteofAtlanta.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Mitsubishi Electric Classic is two weeks away and with it comes the modified Stableford scoring system, which was spearheaded by Atlanta's own Stewart Cink, the ambassador to this premiere PGA Tour Champions event. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Good GameActivist investor seeks to oust Americold Chair Mark Patterson over “problematic boardroom behavior”Activist investor Sieve Capital is pushing Americold Realty Trust to remove board chair Mark Patterson, citing his tenure on the board of scandal-ridden office landlord Paramount Group.OpenAI releases policy proposals aimed at addressing fallout from AI-driven job losses The proposals, which OpenAI admits are “ambitious” and “intentionally early and exploratory,” include everything from a new industrial policy agenda to modernizing the tax system to expanding access to healthcare coverage and retirement savings.They are meant to help answer questions about job disruptions and AI systems that evade human control, and to protect against governments deploying AI in ways that run counter to democratic values.Among the core policy suggestions is a public wealth fund, which would see lawmakers and AI companies work together to invest in long-term assets linked to the AI boom, with returns distributed directly to citizens. Another is that the government should encourage and incentivize employers to experiment with four-day workweeks with no loss in pay and offer "benefits bonuses" tied to productivity gains from new AI tools.EPA Wants to Prioritize Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals as Water ContaminantsEPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move sends “a clear message: we will follow the science, we will pursue answers, and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of every American family.”Delta started sharing profits with its 100,000 employees two decades ago. CEO Ed Bastian says shareholders love itThe payout is sizeable: this year, Delta dispersed over $1 billion to its roughly 100,000 employees.Profit sharing distributes a slice of company earnings directly to workers as a cash bonus. At Delta, the formula is simple: 10% of the first $2.5 billion in adjusted profits, and 20% of everything above that.Proxy adviser ISS recommends vote against BP board over attempt to scrap some climate reportingISS recommended a vote against the BP board on revoking some previous climate reporting resolutions and allowing it to hold online-only shareholder meetings: "A particularly compelling argument would be required to justify such a legal revocation, which we believe is unprecedented in the UK context," ISS said about BP's resolution to retire two resolutions from 2015 and 2019 requiring company-specific climate reporting which passed with near 100% support at the time.Activist shareholder Follow This broadens climate campaign against BPA group of European investors led ‌by activist Follow This urged BP on Thursday to drop plans to scrap some company-specific climate-reporting commitments and called on shareholders to vote against the move at the oil company's annual meeting this month.Follow This also warned ‌of possible ⁠legal action after BP refused to put a separate shareholder resolution on the agenda of its April 23 annual general meeting.TVA CEO Don Moul announces retirement as Trump slashes his payThe CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest public utility in the United States, will retire July 1.Don Moul, CEO since April, 9, 2025, notified the public utility's board of directors April 3, closing a turbulent chapter for the federal power provider.Had Moul decided to stay on at TVA, he would have faced a 90% pay cut as the Trump administration seeks to cap pay for all TVA employees at $500,000.Moul, the highest paid federal employee, made about $6 million as TVA CEO in 2025.Similarly sized utilities in the South, and TVA in the past, have paid their CEOs substantially more than Moul made. Jeff Lyash made over $10 million in his last year as TVA's chief executive. Lynn Good, a recent CEO of the private Duke Energy company, drew $21.6 million in 2024, and in the same year the CEO of Southern Company made $23.8 million.Starbucks staff will now get paid weekly — and some will get new bonuseswill allow baristas and shift supervisors at Starbucks' top stores to earn up to $300 each quarter — or up to $1,200 a year — for meeting sales goals and consistently delivering a positive customer experienceUnited Airlines and flight attendants reached a tentative deal with $740 million in bonusesUnited Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA reached a tentative five-year labor agreement on March 26 that would provide the carrier's 30,000 flight attendants their first pay increases since 2020, including a $740 million signing bonus pool and top wages of $100 per hour by the contract's end.Beyond base pay, the contract also covers compensation during the boarding process, additional pay when lengthy gaps occur between flights, and limits on how overnight flying can be scheduled.United said the agreement would make its flight attendants the highest-paid in the industry.‍ ‍Chief human resource officer salaries have surged 30% at S&P 500 companiesThe number of CHROs designated as named executive officers in public filings from Russell 3000 companies rose from 148 in 2021 to 230 in 2025Median compensation for Russell 3000 CHROs grew by 14.7% between 2024 and 2025, compared to 8.1% for all NEOs. When looking at S&P 500 companies, CHRO pay grew by 30.4% in the same timeframeCHROs are “taking on larger mandates, moving beyond that traditional operational focus, to take on something more,” Jones said. The fact that CHROs are becoming more “strategically integrated” into their organizations reflects how “workforce and culture issues really are just top of mind,” he added.‍ ‍The Entire State of Maine Is Poised to Ban New Data CentersThe bill was passed by the Maine House of Representatives last month and is expected to pass in the Senate as well, which would make Maine the first state in the country to ban new data centers. The unprecedented move highlights growing bipartisan political fallout over the AI hype and consequent construction boom.SPEED ROUNDIran war could spur Europe to double down on renewables — againFrom $85K to $528K: Caitlin Clark's 521% Pay Rise After New WNBA Deal Climate change is impacting golf, from player health to courses AND French ski resorts face 'downward spiral' amid climate change and funding meltdownBurger King to hire 60K workers as part of turnaround‍ ‍Red Lobster is reportedly bringing back Endless Shrimp 2 years after the CEO vowed it would never returnTrump fires Attorney General Pam BondiHershey is moving back to the original recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups after the chocolate's grandson blasted them last monthUnited Airlines is rolling out beds in economy class

The Voice of Emory Basketball, our very own Chris Mooneyham, joins us to set the stage for Sunday's Division III Basketball National Championship between Emory & Mary Washington. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Bliss, Founder & CEO of Front Row Card Show stopped by the studio to talk about this weekend's Atlanta premiere for the Front Row Card Show at the Cobb Convention Center. Front Road Card Show is the nation's largest and fastest-growing organizer of sports cards, Pokemon, TCG, comics and collectible conventions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The PGA Tour's new CEO Brian Rolapp laid out his vision for the tour late last week with his six "themes" that he hopes to implement. What does it all mean? We bring in our golf dude Brian Katrek to help us figure it all out. We also talk some TGL and Tiger Woods. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harrison Smajovits from The Hockey Writers joins Nick & Chris to discuss what's going on with the NHL's possible return to Atlanta. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While Gerard is fixing his knee, Laurent invites Chris Seiple, Vice Chairman of WoodMac Power & Renewables group, to try to make sense of the scale of the coming power demand surge and the strain it is placing on today's US market structures.AI-driven datacenter growth is pushing the US power system into uncharted territory. Roughly 180 GW of U.S. electricity commitments tied to datacenters represent about 30% incremental demand. Hyperscaler CAPEX is exploding. Demand is accelerating far faster than new supply can come online, setting up a near-term imbalance. In response, the U.S. utility sector is preparing for a potential $1.4 trillion investment supercycle over the next five years.In regulated markets, utilities are under pressure to modernize cost-of-service models and deliver massive capital programs while keeping electricity affordable. Companies such as Duke Energy, Southern Company, Entergy, and CenterPoint Energy are planning investments that run into the hundreds of billions.In deregulated markets, players like Constellation Energy, Vistra Corp., and NRG Energy face a structural mismatch: datacenters can be built faster than power plants, while price signals may not rise quickly enough to incentivize new generation. Some customers are exploring off-grid solutions, but these bring technical and economic challenges.The conclusion is clear: load growth is staggering. Parts of the system may move toward re-regulation, but that alone will not be enough. Rapid innovation—decentralized solutions, grid-enhancing technologies, faster interconnections, and deeper digitization—will be essential as utilities relearn how to build at scale and speed.  Check an excellent WoodMac report on the Datacentershttps://www.woodmac.com/horizons/us-data-centre-power-demand-challenges-electricity-market-model/  

The Atlanta Vibe are in the midst of season two for Major Leage Volleyball and Atlanta sports fans are loving every moment of it! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's more to Braves Spring Training and North Port has more to offer than just the Grapefruit League. Mike Dunn sits down with Nick & Chris to talk about it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's more to Braves Spring Training and North Port has more to offer than just the Grapefruit League. Mike Dunn sits down with Nick & Chris to talk about it all. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Super Bowl ratings & commercials to Winter Olympic Gold to the World Cup, RICHARD DEITSCH has it all covered like no one else! He is THE Business of Sports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year might be the last opportunity to legalize, regulate and tax sports betting and how prediction markets might just make sports wagering (trading) legal without any input from the General Assembly? We get the skinny from one of the major power players. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian Fienhold from the Dallas Safari Club joined Nick & Chris. The Dallas Safari Club Convention & Sporting Expo hits town next weekend, February 6th - 8th at Georgia World Congress Center with over 600,000 square feet of exhibits Leading exhibitors from around the world including: Hunting and fishing outfitters, Firearm and gear manufacturers, Artists & Jewelers. BigGame.orgSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth Dividend growth investing sounds simple, but doing it well for decades is not. Markets get noisy. Numbers get confusing. That's why we wrote Dividend Growth: The Quiet Engine of Wealth—a practical guide to building a framework you can stick with when things get uncomfortable. You can get a free copy here. Plus, join our market newsletter for more on dividend growth investing. ________ If you could only look at one number to judge whether a dividend can keep growing for decades, what would it be?In this episode, we strip investing back to first principles. Greg talks about why investors get overwhelmed with data and how focusing on the wrong metrics can quietly lead you off track. Using a simple hot dog stand analogy, he explains why familiar numbers like return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) can distort reality, especially when leverage enters the picture.From there, he introduces return on invested capital (ROIC) and shows why it does a better job connecting business quality to long-term dividend growth. Later, Greg addresses what ROIC can't tell you and why context always matters. Along the way, he walks through real-world examples, including Kraft Heinz ($KHC), Southern Company ($SO), Williams-Sonoma ($WSM), and Microsoft ($MSFT), to show how capital allocation decisions compound over time. [00:11] Introduction[02:50] Information overload and the danger of focusing on the wrong numbers[04:40] The hot dog stand: ROA vs. ROE and the role of leverage[08:15] Why both ROA and ROE can mislead dividend investors[09:35] Return on invested capital (ROIC) explained in plain English[13:30] ROIC, cost of capital, and long-term value creation[14:55] Case study: Kraft Heinz and why high yield can be a trap[18:30] Case study: Southern Company and when low returns still “work”[22:10] Case study: Williams-Sonoma and disciplined capital allocation[24:55] Case study: Microsoft and the power of long-term compounding[29:10] The limits of ROIC and why incremental returns matter[31:25] Final takeaway: one number, long time horizons, evolving businessesSend us a textDisclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. This episode is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. If you enjoy the show, we'd greatly appreciate it if you subscribe and leave a review RESOURCES: Schedule a meeting with us -> Financial Planning & Portfolio Management Getting into the weeds -> DCM Investment Reports & Models Visit our website to learn more about our investment strategy and wealth management services. Follow us on:Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | X

The wide ranging college basketball gambling scandal has hit home with two Kennesaw State players part of the point-shaving scheme. We get the latest from one of the foremost authorities, David Purdam from ESPN. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zach Sharpe, Vice President of the International Flipper Pinball Association ifpapinball.com Nearly 12,000 tournaments and leagues were held during calendar year 2025 for those hoping to qualify for the North American Championship. Nearly 37,000 players competed for a coveted spot in what will be The International Flipper Pinball Association’s 11th Annual IFPA State Championship Series finale. A staggering $1,300,000 in cash and prizes has already been awarded throughout calendar year 2025 but it is only to get to this next stage where the best of the best face off. This Saturday, January 17th, there will be just over 1,200 players representing 49 states and the District of Columbia ready to put their command of a 2 ¼ inch silver sphere on display. All will be battling for their share of a $220,000 prize pool.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.