On July 21, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. This legislation is primarily focused on bank reform — regulation and resolution of financial companies that pose systemic risk, banking regulatory reform, regulation of derivatives, and consumer financial protection. However, the Act also makes significant changes to corporate governance and executive compensation rules for public companies in all industries. In this client alert we summarize these new requirements, their effective dates, and early impacts on companies in the technology, life sciences and clean tech industries.