QUIZ: Air Canada’s CEO step down, Xerox governance, and Starbuck’s investors hate sugar

What this episode covers

Air Canada CEO [Michael Rousseau] to step down in 2026 amid recent controversy over French-language skills The Board of Directors of Air Canada has announced that President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Rousseau will retire by the end of the third quarter of 2026, following nearly two decades with the airline. Did the official press release mention the crash? Did the official press release mention the CEO’s inability to speak French? Will he remain on the board? According to the Board, when did it start the internal succession planning process? According to the Board, when did it start the external succession planning process? Did the press release stick to Canadian/Quebec language laws and use the appropriate accents in Montreal and Quebec? YES: Montréal, Québec. Some TRUE and FALSE questions from the company’s latest proxy statement: TRUE of FALSE: Air Canada “regularly test the linguistic skills of its more than 15,000 public facing employees in respect of Canada’s official languages” TRUE of FALSE: The proxy states it has “2 official languages.” TRUE of FALSE: In the CEO’s opening letter to shareholders he states that “We are immensely proud of … promoting our official languages.” TRUE of FALSE: Language proficiency is an official skill used to describe directors TRUE of FALSE: Air Canada is the only airline required to offer services in both official languages in Canada TRUE of FALSE: “Air Canada uses both official languages of Canada in its corporate, customer and employee communications and is committed to promoting both official languages of Canada across the country, and have policies, programs, procedures and tools to help our employees learn and improve their language skills. Six of the seven members of our Executive Committee are bilingual.” Xerox Board of Directors Appoints Louie Pastor as Chief Executive Officer Will he be chair or just a director? How many CEOs since 2022? How many CFOs since 2025? What is the average board tenure of a Xerox director? How many different executive positions has Louis Pastor held at Xerox since 2018? How many times has Louis Pastor resigned from Xeros since 2018? On March 25, 2026, Starbucks Corporation held its 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders Average support for directors? Number of directors with 99% support? Lowest support? Percentage against Say on Pay? The Accountability Board submitted a shareholder proposal requesting supermajority shareholder voting requirements be replaced with majority voting requirements. The board gave no recommendation? What percentage of shareholders supported this proposal? How many supported an SHP asking for an Independent Chair? Why was it so low? Finally, there were 4 anti-SG/anti-woke/anti-DEI. What was their average level of support? Democrats Examine Elon Musk’s Role in Suspension of Business Disclosure Law The Corporate Transparency Act requires companies to report information about their ownership to the government, an effort to combat problems such as money laundering and terrorism. In February, a New York Times investigation revealed that Mr. Musk was quietly operating at least 90 private companies in Texas that would have been subject to heightened disclosure; and that he has used limited liability companies that disclose little about their ownership structure to disguise his spending, including to support Mr. Trump in the 2024 election. The Treasury Department suspended the law last March one day after Mr. Musk posted on X, in response to a user frustrated about the law, that he “can look into it.” Who is the group examining Elon Musk led by? What is Chick-fil-A offering families to ditch phones at the table in push to unplug Total bill forgiveness “Conversation Cards” sponsored by Chick-fil-A A signed photograph of CEO Andrew Cathy, the third generation of the Cathy family to lead the company Early access to new menu items Ice Cream Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings says his first boss out of college would wash his dirty mugs at 4:30 a.m.—so now he returns the favor for his staff too “One morning I came in very early to the office [at] like 4:30 [a.m.], and I went into the bathroom, and there was my CEO. And he’s washing coffee cups,” Hastings explained. “And I was like, ‘Barry, are you washing my coffee cups?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘Have you been doing that all year?’” “He said ‘Yes.’ And I’m like, ‘Why?’” “And he said, ‘Well, you do so much for us and this is the one thing I can do for you.’” How does Reed return the favor to his staff? Investors Suing to Vote on ESG Proposals Meet Corporate Pushback Chubb Ltd. and BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. are pushing back against shareholder lawsuits seeking to place ESG proposals on annual meeting ballots. Chubb: 23% F (3/13) with 13% total influence There are only 3 women on Chubb’s board, how many Michaels do they have? CEO (2004-) and Chair (2007-) Evan Greenberg has been at the helm for 22 years. How many years has he served with Lead Independent Director Michael Connors (2011-)? BJ’s Wholesale Club 30% F with 14% influence Two of 10 key executives at BJ’s are women. How many of BJ’s 6 key board leadership positions are led by women (3 committee chairs, CEO, Chair, Lead Director)? A CEO trying to reindustrialize America says blue-collar pay is headed for ‘massive hyperinflation’ and kids should skip college to become welders This is from Hadrian Automation, a high-tech manufacturing company that builds "software-defined factories" for the aerospace and defense industries using AI-powered software, unlike a traditional machine shop which relies on the "tribal knowledge" of veteran machinists What is the name of Hadrian’s CEO? Duke Thunder Rex Charger Chris Power Blaze Cannon Jack Hammer Did he graduate from college?