Wall Street Journal (May 28)
JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon told the “the truth about proxy advisory firms” when he urged investors not to blindly follow their guidance on corporate governance and shareholder votes. Firms like Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co. “have enjoyed far too much influence over companies they don’t own and been subject to far too little scrutiny given their potential conflicts of interest.”
Tags: CEO, Conflicts, Glass Lewis, Governance, Guidance, Influence, Investors, ISS, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan, Proxy advisory firms, Shareholders, Votes
Bloomberg (March 9)
Hewlett-Packard is under fire (again). This time the issue is CEO Leo Apotheker’s involvement in the nomination of five new directors. Company rules stipulate this process must be conducted by independent directors. Because they failed to uphold the nomination process, proxy adviser ISS is recommending “no” votes against 3 directors standing for re-election and against the CEO’s remuneration. “The CEO’s formal participation in the ad hoc committee established to identify potential director candidates runs contrary to the Nominating and Governance Committee’s Charter.”
Tags: Directors, Governance, HP, ISS, Nomination, Proxy adviser
