Corporate Governance

On March 12, 2026, Adobe announced that CEO Shantanu Narayen will step down after 18 years leading the company. Narayen will remain until a successor is found, then transition to board chairman. The departure came amid deep skepticism about Adobe's ability to compete in the AI era. Adobe stock fell more than 8% despite the company reporting record Q1 revenue of $6.4 billion (12% YoY growth). Lead Independent Director Frank Calderoni chairs the successor search committee.

On March 3, 2026, Sam Altman publicly admitted that OpenAI's Pentagon deal announced February 28 was 'opportunistic and sloppy' and announced renegotiations to add explicit prohibitions on domestic surveillance and lethal autonomy without human authorization. Altman also publicly stated that Anthropic should not have been designated a supply chain risk, saying competitors setting ethical limits on military AI 'makes the whole industry better.'

On February 25, 2026, eBay settled a lawsuit filed by David and Ina Steiner, who operated EcommerceBytes newsletter. In 2019, eBay executives allegedly directed employees to harass the couple after critical coverage, telling staff 'I want to see ashes. As long as it takes. Whatever it takes.' Employees sent live cockroaches, fly larvae, a bloody Halloween pig mask, and a funeral wreath to the couple's home. Several workers traveled from California to Massachusetts to surveil them and attempt to install a GPS tracker on their car. Former CEO Devin Wenig was named as a defendant. Seven employees pleaded guilty to conspiracy and cyberstalking charges.

Dario Amodei, along with all six other Anthropic cofounders, pledged to donate 80% of their wealth, citing concerns about wealth concentration from the AI boom. In an essay titled 'The Adolescence of Technology,' Amodei wrote: 'The thing to worry about is a level of wealth concentration that will break society. Wealthy individuals have an obligation to help solve this problem.' Each cofounder's net worth is estimated at ~$3.7B, potentially directing tens of billions to philanthropy. The pledge is not legally binding and no donations have been made yet - equity is 'set aside' pending implementation.

Anthropic announced it will match employee donations after employees individually pledged billions of dollars worth of Anthropic shares to charities. The matching program was announced alongside the cofounders' 80% wealth pledge as part of efforts to address wealth inequality from the AI boom.

In January 2026, Andreessen Horowitz hired Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran acquitted in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless street performer. The hire was widely seen as a political statement. Andreessen himself framed the firm's controversies as providing 'this incredible competitive advantage' for attracting founders who want to work with investors who are 'brave.'

Germany's BaFin imposed new restrictions on N26 in December 2025 after a 2024 special audit found serious deficiencies in risk management, complaint handling, and lending. Restrictions include a ban on new mortgages in the Netherlands, higher capital requirements, and a second special monitor appointment since 2021. The company's funding process was suspended.

In December 2025 TIME interview, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan revealed that his three children do not have unlimited access to YouTube or other digital platforms, with their screen time carefully managed. Mohan stated 'We do limit their time on YouTube and other platforms and other forms of social media.' This personal practice contrasts with YouTube's business model of maximizing watch time and has drawn criticism given ongoing concerns about platform addiction and youth mental health impacts.

In December 2025, the Spanish government imposed a €64 million fine on Airbnb for breaches of consumer laws, including operating over 65,000 unlicensed listings. Fine reflects growing regulatory pressure over Airbnb's impact on housing markets across Europe.

Klarna faced a securities class action lawsuit (Nayak v. Klarna Group) alleging the company's September 2025 IPO documents were misleading by understating credit risks from lending to financially unsophisticated customers at high interest rates. When Q3 2025 results showed a 102% year-over-year increase in credit loss provisions, shares fell about 20% below IPO price.

Larry Summers resigned from OpenAI's board on November 19, 2025, after Congress released documents revealing frequent email communications with Jeffrey Epstein in 2017, 2018, and 2019. In emails, Summers sought Epstein's advice on personal matters, with Epstein describing himself as a 'wing man.' Summers also resigned from Harvard, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and Santander's advisory board. He stated he was 'deeply ashamed' of his actions.

In November 2025, former partner Michelle Ritter filed a lawsuit against Eric Schmidt alleging sexual assault, physical abuse, and digital surveillance. The lawsuit claims Schmidt raped her on a yacht in November 2021 and at Burning Man 2023, photographed her without consent while nude, physically shoved her leaving bruises, and used a 'backdoor' to spy on employees. Ritter is seeking at least $100 million in damages. Schmidt's attorney called the claims 'false and defamatory' and part of a business dispute. The case follows a December 2024 domestic violence restraining order that was withdrawn after a financial settlement.

In December 2024, OpenAI announced plans to convert from a nonprofit-controlled structure to a for-profit public benefit corporation. California AG Bonta approved the restructuring in October 2025 after extracting concessions. The deal gave Microsoft ~27% ownership and was contingent on SoftBank's $30B investment. A coalition of 60+ California nonprofits (Eyes on OpenAI) criticized the deal as setting a dangerous precedent for startups evading taxes and having 'a bazillion conflicts of interest.' Elon Musk attempted to block it, at one point offering $97.4B to acquire the company.

Ron Conway resigned from Salesforce Foundation board in October 2025 after Marc Benioff voiced support for Trump's National Guard deployments. Conway told Benioff their 'values were no longer aligned' and that he 'barely recognizes the person I have so long admired'.

Revolut's full UK banking license, conditionally granted in July 2024, was delayed well beyond the typical 12-month mobilization period. The PRA and FCA expressed concerns about risk management systems, anti-money laundering controls, and cross-border payments compliance across Revolut's 40 markets. UK customers remain without FSCS deposit protection (limited to £50,000 holdings). Co-founder Nik Storonsky admitted it was 'a mistake' to prioritize growth over licensing. Revolut also topped UK fraud complaint rankings for the second consecutive year.

In October 2025, China's SAMR opened antitrust investigation into Qualcomm's June 2025 acquisition of Israeli automotive chipmaker Autotalks. Qualcomm completed the deal without filing merger notification despite SAMR's March 2024 written notice requiring filing. Qualcomm had initially claimed it was dropping the deal after regulatory notice, then proceeded anyway. With $17.8B China revenue (46% of total), Qualcomm faces potential penalty up to $1.8 billion. Shares fell 4% on probe announcement.

President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao in October 2025 following his federal conviction and prison sentence for anti-money laundering violations at Binance.

In October 2025, ARM lost its lawsuit against Qualcomm after a U.S. District Court confirmed Qualcomm's jury trial victory and rejected ARM's claims that Qualcomm breached architecture license agreements. ARM had sued Qualcomm in August 2022 for breach of contract related to the Nuvia acquisition. Critics noted that now that ARM owns Ampere Computing and directly competes with its own customers, it lends credence to Qualcomm's claims of anticompetitive behavior. The lawsuit creates risk by pushing chip designers toward open-source RISC-V alternatives, creating existential threat to ARM's licensing model.

The US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware held Byju Raveendran in civil contempt for failing to appear before the court and submit evidence on time in the $533 million fraud case. Raveendran was ordered to pay $10,000 per day for each day he remained in contempt. He skipped hearings, missed extended deadlines, and provided evasive and incomplete responses regarding the alleged transfers. A default judgment of over $1.07 billion was subsequently issued in November 2025, though it was later amended to set a new damages phase for January 2026.

Intel accidentally turned off its air pollution mitigation equipment at an Oregon facility, releasing caustic gases into a nearby neighborhood for two months before the issue was discovered and corrected. This raised serious questions about environmental monitoring and community safety protocols.