Integrity

The most important thing we do is operate with integrity. There is no other way. As an important part of the financial markets, we will not tolerate anything less than 100% honesty and transparency in our business dealings.

Codes of Conduct

Every Moody’s employee and Board director is required to abide by our Code of Business Conduct. MIS employees have additional standards outlined in its Code of Professional Conduct. These are not static documents. They are continuously reviewed to ensure that they remain relevant in a changing market.

For example, in 2016, when we set out to revise our Code of Business Conduct, we sought to make it a more engaging document by streamlining it, reorganizing the content into themes (such as “How We Treat Our Customers” and “How We Treat Each Other”), and making the document more visually appealing. The end result is a document that is much easier to navigate and understand. Along with the facelift, the Code of Business Conduct got a new, web-based training module.

Corporate Governance

Moody’s Board of Directors

Integrity, accountability and sound decision-making begin at the top. Our nine-member Board of Directors has experience in a variety of industries and executive roles. Henry A. McKinnell, Ph.D., leads as Chairman of the Board, and has served as a director since 1997. All members of the Board, with the exception of the President and CEO Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr., are independent. Our Board is declassified — all directors now stand for election annually for a one-year term. Moody’s by-laws provide that the nominees for director are required to receive a majority of votes cast at the annual meeting.

We had two changes in our Board membership in 2016. On March 1, 2016, Bruce Van Saun joined the Moody’s Board of Directors and on April 12, 2016, John K. Wulff retired from the Board.

Read our Corporate Governance Principles »

Board Committees

In April 2016, the Board voted to split the Governance & Compensation Committee. Moody’s currently has four standing board committees:

Audit

The Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the company’s financial reporting, audit process and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. Only independent directors may serve on this committee.

Governance & Nominating

The Governance & Nominating Committee is responsible for shaping the company’s corporate governance and identifying and recommending nominees for the Board. Only independent directors may serve on this committee.

Compensation & Human Resources

The Compensation & Human Resources Committee is responsible for executive and director compensation and reviewing employee benefit plans.Only independent directors may serve on this committee.

Executive

The Executive Committee’s primary purpose is to exercise the authority and powers of the Board of Directors between meetings of the Board.

For more on corporate governance, visit our Investor Relations website.

Moody’s Integrity Hotline

Moody’s maintains an Integrity Hotline for employees and other stakeholders to confidentially report suspected violations or causes of concern. The hotline is staffed by a third party to ensure anonymity of the reporter. The codes of conduct also clearly state that no one will be subject to retaliation for making a good faith report. The Integrity Hotline is available to all Moody’s employees worldwide at all times and offers services in more than 75 languages.

The Moody’s Corporation Board of Directors as of December 31, 2016:

Front row, from left:
Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr.
Leslie F. Seidman
Kathryn M. Hill
Henry A. McKinnell, Jr., Ph.D.

Back row, from left:
Basil L. Anderson
Darrell Duffie, Ph.D.
Bruce Van Saun
Jorge A. Bermudez
Ewald Kist

To learn more about our Board and corporate governance, please see our Proxy Statement.

How to Contact the Board:

Stockholders and other stakeholders may communicate with the Board, or with a specific director or directors by sending us an email.