Section 8 of the Clayton Act prohibits directors and officers from serving simultaneously on the boards of competitors, subject to limited exceptions.
“Section 8 is an important, but underenforced, part of our antitrust laws. Competitors sharing officers or directors further concentrates power and creates the opportunity to exchange competitively sensitive information and facilitate coordination—all to the detriment of the economy and the American public,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Without admitting to liability, the following companies saw director resignations in response to the Antitrust Division’s concerns:
- Definitive Healthcare, where one director resigned because of his presence on the board of ZoomInfo Technologies. Both operate go-to-market information and intelligence platforms used by third-party sales, marketing, operations, and recruiting teams across the United States.
- Redwire, where one director resigned because of her presence on the board of Maxar Technologies. Both provide space infrastructure and communications products and services.
- CTS, where one director resigned because of his presence on the board of Littelfuse. Both manufacturer components and technologies for use in vehicles.
- Udemy, where one director resigned because of his presence on the board of Skillsoft. Both provide online corporate education services.
- Solarwinds, where three directors resigned because of their presence on the board of Dynatrace through their connection with investment firm Thoma Bravo. Both Solarwinds and Dynatrace provide Application Performance Monitoring (APM) software.
The Antitrust Division warned that this announcement is just the first in an extensive review of potentially unlawful interlocking directorates. “Companies, officers, and board members should expect that enforcement of Section 8 will continue to be a priority for the Antitrust Division,” the agency said. 
Jaclyn Jaeger is a contributing editor at Compliance Chief 360° and a freelance business writer based in Manchester, New Hampshire.