- The vast majority of companies that had virtual-only meetings last year are sticking to them, so demand will be high for the most desirable dates and times. Reserve your preferred date and time slot early – and be sure you have lined up a top Inspector of Elections too. Be sure you will get the “A-Team” from your AGM service suppliers.
- Make sure that no one on your Meeting Team agrees to accept “Floor Votes” as a way to head off a formal shareholder proposal: Please be sure to review our article on this crazy process, which a few naïve companies foolishly agree to every year - based on the often-mistaken notion that there will be too few voters to worry about.
Brush up here: The Best, Worst and Weirdest Things We’ve Seen in the 2019 Meeting Season to Date - Beware: Shareholder Proponents, and activists in general, will be monitoring VSMs and paying special attention to the Q&A period, and to whether shareholders are being given a fair chance to ask questions and sufficient time to cast or change their votes online. Here’s a sample ‘run of show’ and tips for the Q&A to avoid being publicly named and shamed: A Sample “Run-Of-Show” For A Satisfying And Successful VSM & The Virtual Shareholder Meeting Q&A – and How to Tackle It
- Be sure to disclose the names of shareholder proponents (or the lead proponent, at a minimum) in your Proxy Statement. Glass Lewis has revised its voting guidelines for 2023 and will “will generally recommend voting against the governance committee chair” if the lead proponent is not disclosed. (Note too, as we have noted many times before, knowing the identity of the proponent - and their sometimes negligible share holdings or questionable motives – often yields bigger pro-management votes.)
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