Form and Purpose: Mission-Driven Corporate Governance

The Mehrotra Institute and ECGI invite you to the inaugural Mehrotra Corporate Governance Conference, “Form and Purpose: Mission-Driven Corporate Governance,” to be held on Friday, 30 October 2026, at Boston University.

This one-day conference will bring together leading scholars in law, economics, and management with prominent corporate-governance practitioners to explore one of the timeliest questions in corporate governance: Can nonprofit, public-benefit, and other mission-oriented governance mechanisms preserve a company’s social mission in the face of commercial pressures?

The conference will seek to move the discussion beyond the familiar “shareholder primacy versus stakeholderism” debate toward distinctive and practical questions of governance design: Suppose founders (or society more broadly) want a corporation to pursue a social purpose. How should its governance be designed so that the commitment is credible without undermining commercial viability or creating unaccountable decision-makers? How should boards balance public-benefit commitments against shareholder pecuniary interests? Can mechanisms such as nonprofit control, independent mission guardians, and other structural safeguards create credible commitments to purpose? And how do ownership structures - from institutional and common ownership to venture capital - shape companies’ ability to pursue social and environmental objectives?

Drawing on developments in AI, healthcare, technology, and iconic purpose-driven companies, the conference will examine both the promise and the practical limits of mission-driven corporate governance.

📆 Conference details: 
Friday, 30 October 2026

📍 Conference Location: 
Boston University Hillel, 213 Bay State Rd
Boston, MA 02215