NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Secretary, the leading governance and compliance publication, is excited to announce the finalists for its Corporate Governance Awards. This annual event recognizes the leading practices and companies in the corporate compliance, governance and legal community.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121220/NY32791LOGO  )

2012 marks the Corporate Governance Awards' fifth anniversary. Originally planned for early November 2012, the awards ceremony had to be postponed due to Hurricane Sandy. The Corporate Governance Awards will now take place on January 8, 2013 in New York City, with a portion of the proceeds donated towards relief for victims impacted by the horrific storm.

The governance and legal professionals nominated for the Corporate Governance Awards have demonstrated excellence in fields ranging from the use of technology in governance and compliance to the most innovative CSR disclosure policy. A full list of the finalists is provided below and online here.

Highlights from the finalist selection process include:

• Broad governance success: Krispy Kreme is a finalist in five categories: Most Innovative CSR Disclosure Policy, Best Use of Technology by a Corporate Secretary or General Counsel, Corporate Governance Team of the Year (small cap), Best Overall Governance, Compliance & Ethics and Governance Professional of the Year (Darryl Marsch, senior vice president and general counsel).

• Head-to-head match-up: Allstate and General Electric are both finalists in two of the same categories: Corporate Governance Team of the Year (large cap) and Best Proxy Statement.

• Repeat performances: Prudential, a winner last year, is again a finalist. Prudential won the Best Proxy Statement award last year and is a finalist for Rising Star (Ed Ballo, vice president and head of Shareholder Services) and Governance Professional of the Year (Peggy Foran, chief governance officer, vice president and secretary) this year. Microsoft, winner of the Best Overall Governance, Compliance & Ethics (large cap) award last year is a finalist in the Most Innovative CSR Disclosure Policy category this year.

• New possibilities: Corporate Secretary has introduced a new category: Best Overall Legal Team for Governance. This expands the Best Legal Team in an M&A Transaction category from last year.

Matthew Scott, editor, Corporate Secretary
'This year we see a host of new companies earning finalist nominations, which indicates that many have stepped up their efforts to improve governance standards. More corporations are becoming committed to maintaining high standards of governance over the long term.'

'Legal teams are required to do so much more than handle M&A transactions, so we were compelled to offer a new award category that takes into account the many different functions the legal team is becoming involved with and also acknowledges that outside counsel is playing an increasingly important role in the improved governance and compliance of corporations and may well deserve recognition.'

Learn more about the Corporate Governance Awards on January 8, 2013 at http://www.corporatesecretary.com/events/corporate-governance-awards/corporate-governance-awards-2012

About Corporate Secretary
Now in its 10^th year, Corporate Secretary is the leading publication for governance, risk, compliance and ethics professionals. Corporate Secretary's monthly print magazines and weekly e-newsletters meet the needs of corporate secretaries, general counsel and governance professionals by reporting the relevant news and offering analysis of and comment on topical issues. In-depth feature articles on regulatory and other developments offer practical solutions to tricky problems. Visit www.CorporateSecretary.com.

Media Enquires
Ian Au
Corporate Secretary
ian.au@thecrossbordergroup.com / +1 212 430 6871

Corporate Governance Awards Finalists

Governance Professional of the Year (small to mid-cap)

• Damien Atkins – AOL
• Ronald Gieseke – Ameren
• Darryl Marsch – Krispy Kreme
• Ann Robertson – Saks

Governance Professional of the Year (large cap)

• Doug Chia – Johnson & Johnson
• Margaret (Peggy) Foran – Prudential
• Matthew Geekie – Graybar
• Jay Stephens – Raytheon
• Janet Wright – Dell

Corporate Governance Team of the Year (small to mid-cap)

• AOL
• Helix Energy
• Krispy Kreme
• Monolithic Power Systems

Corporate Governance Team of the Year (large cap)

• Allstate
• Dell
• General Electric
• Time Warner

Best Use of Technology by a Corporate Secretary or General Counsel

• Krispy Kreme
• Parker Hannifin
• PSEG's Office of Corporate Secretary
• Saks

Most Innovative CSR Disclosure Policy

• EMC
• Clorox
• Krispy Kreme
• Microsoft
• Raytheon

Best Overall Legal Team for Governance

• AES Corp.
• Dell
• Marsh & McClennan
• Trimas

Best Overall Governance, Compliance and Ethics (small to mid-cap)

• AECOM
• Krispy Kreme
• SRA International

Best Overall Governance, Compliance and Ethics (large cap)

• Adobe
• American Express
• eBay
• Graybar
• Marriott International

Best Proxy Statement

• Allstate
• Coca-Cola Company
• General Electric
• Northwestern Energy Corp.
• The Hartford Financial Services Group

Rising Star

• Ed Ballo – Prudential
• Megan Pavich – Allstate
• Simona Katcher – Symantec

Best Overall Corporate Governance – International Category

• BMO Financial Group
• Encana Corp.
• Manulife
• Tim Hortons
• Virgin Media

SOURCE Corporate Secretary