|
Public Interest Program
Forum Summary
Electronic Participation
in
Shareholder Meetings
April 6, 2010
The purpose of this public interest Forum program is to develop marketplace
standards for the fair and orderly conduct of shareholder meetings that allow
electronic participation.
There appears to be widespread corporate and investor
appreciation of the opportunities presented by electronic communication
technologies to reduce costs and, more importantly, attract broader
participation in the shareholder meeting process. Concerns have been raised,
though, that “virtual” meetings could be conducted in ways that eliminate the
effective communications of properly conducted physical meetings.
Considering the global economic importance of the protocols to be defined, the
Forum program has been organized to assure a publicly open process for
establishing informed consensus support of key marketplace constituencies:
▪ Review of exemplary meetings
– from April to June 2010, report observations of shareholder meetings that test electronic
communications as well as some traditional meetings that present relevant issues
▪ Weekly reports – summaries
of program developments, exemplary shareholder meetings, relevant news articles,
and views of program participants; to be distributed Fridays and posted on the
web site for archive reference
▪ Proposals of standards for consideration
– presentation of proposed standards developed by members of the
Program Panel, invited experts and other interested Forum participants
▪ Open meeting – publicly
open exchange of Forum participant views relating to proposed standards, and a
test of the applicable electronic communications processes; to be scheduled for
late June or July after observing 2010 shareholder meetings
▪ Report of consensus standards
– final report of consensus standards established by Forum
participants and a summary of any significant views not supported by apparent
consensus, as approved by the Program Panel and with any comments submitted by
its individual members
The initiation of this program was encouraged by
Walden Asset Management, which had voiced the concerns about “virtual”
meetings shared by many investors. Both
Intel Corporation, which has pioneered electronic participation in its
annual meetings, and
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., which provides facilitating
communications technology, have responded with commitments of leadership support
for the program. Representatives of each of the three organizations have been
invited to serve on the Program Panel.
Additional corporate, investor and professional leaders will be invited to
support the program and serve as panel members, experts, or workshop
participants to guide the Forum’s full public review of the issues and
development of a consensus report.
Participation in this Forum program is open, free of charge, to all marketplace
decision-makers and the professionals who advise them, according to the Forum's
standard
Conditions of Participation.
April 6, 2010
Forum chairman:
Gary Lutin
Lutin & Company, 575 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022
Telephone: 212-605-0335
Email:
gl@shareholderforum.com
Program Panel:
Hye-Won Choi, TIAA-CREF
Margaret M. Foran, Prudential
Financial, Inc.
Mary Beth Kissane, Walek &
Associates and National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI)
Cary I. Klafter, Intel
Corporation
Alvin P. Kressler, III,
Bloomberg
James Kristie, Directors & Boards
Eric Nowak, Swiss Finance
Institute and European Group for Investor Protection (egip)
David A. Silverman, Blue Harbour
Group and New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA)
Timothy Smith, Walden Asset
Management
Frank G. Zarb, Jr., Katten
Muchin Rosenman LLP
|