Amgen, by far the biggest company in the region by market capitalization, is proving very far-sighted on corporate governance.

As the Wall Street Journal reported on April 6, the biotechnology giant has asked shareholders to complete an extensive survey of pay practices. The request was made in conjunction with the mailing of Amgen’s annual proxy statement and a summary will be posted on its Web site around the time of its annual meeting later this spring.

Amgen wants to know if shareholders think pay is truly performance-based and linked to its overall strategy.

Getting shareholders to weigh in on pay is a step in the right direction as the nation debates big questions about wealth creation, taxes and executive compensation.

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