Thursday, October 13, 2005

US companies change rules on board votes


Leading US companies have been amending their corporate governance policies in response to growing shareholder dislike of rules that enable directors to be elected on a minority of votes cast at annual meetings. The changes, led by governance bellwethers such as Pfizer, could increase shareholders' opportunities to oust directors and increase their influence on such matters as executive compensation. Corporate governance experts expect more companies to follow suit.

Since the scandals at Enron, WorldCom and elsewhere, some shareholders have been pressing for greater accountability through the abolition of the "plurality" voting system for director elections.

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