Gilead Sciences $GILD is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/7/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted on 4/28/2014. I voted with management 43% of the time. View GILD’s Proxy Statement, which has a linked Table of Contents. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the […]
Tag Archives | James McRitchie
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): How I Voted – Proxy Score 67
James McRitchie, April 21, 2014 ,
Johnson & Johnson $JNJ is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 4/24/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted on 4/18/2014. I voted with management 67% of the time. View Proxy Statement, which is user friendly. (more…)
Video Friday: Things Will Go Better at Coke With an Independent Chair
James McRitchie, April 18, 2014 ,
CorpGov.net publisher, James McRitchie presents proposal #5 for the 2014 annual meeting of shareowners, which requests the Board of The Coca-Cola Company move prospectively to an independent board chair. To see how I voted on the rest of the issues, click on The Coca-Cola Company (KO): How I Voted – Proxy Score 63 – Things Go […]
Citigroup Inc (C): How I Voted – Proxy Score 33
James McRitchie, April 15, 2014 ,
Citigroup Inc $C, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 4/22/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of no funds when I checked and voted on 4/15/2014. I voted with management 33% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Why an index with no links? That seems so basic. Perhaps Citi doesn’t want to make reading […]
Guest Post: Meet… James McRitchie, CorpGov.Net
James McRitchie, April 3, 2014 ,
Mike Tyrrell is Editor of SRI-Connect – an online research marketplace for professional institutional investors, analysts & companies interested in sustainable development. He is keen to open up the site to corporate governance analysts & corporate governance research. Mike kindly gave permission to reproduce the interview on CorpGov.net. (more…)
SRI Funds & Advisors Send Open Letters on Lawsuits Against Shareholders
James McRitchie, March 24, 2014 ,
It is wonderful to have supportive friends, especially when they represent socially responsible investors and advisors. John Chevedden, Myra K. Young and James McRitchie extend sincere thanks to the following for sending letters of concern regarding their recent lawsuits against us to: EMC Corp, Omnicom, Express Scripts, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.: (more…)
3 Victories in a Row for Shareowner Rights: CMG Still Bumbling
James McRitchie, March 19, 2014 ,
Thanks in large part to Phil Goldstein, long-time friend and defender of the underdog, John Chevedden, James McRitchie (me), and Myra K. Young (my wife) we were able to get a third lawsuit dismissed. Like EMC and Omnicom (OMC) before, Chipotle (CMG) had sued in court, rather than seek a no-action letter from the SEC, alleging our […]
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX): How I Voted – Proxy Score 44
James McRitchie, March 13, 2014 ,
Starbucks Corporation $SBUX, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 3/19/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted on 3/9/2014. I voted with management 44% of the time. View Proxy Statement. (more…)
Omnicom (OMC) Group Loses to Chevedden: Shareowner Rights Preserved
James McRitchie, March 12, 2014 ,
In a memorandum and order issued yesterday, Judge Louis L. Stanton, of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, ruled John Chevedden’s motion to dismiss is granted. Omnicom’s motion for summary judgment is denied. “The clerk is requested to enter judgment dismissing the complaint, with costs and disbursements in favor of Mr. […]
EMC v. John Chevedden and James McRitchie: Case Dismissed
James McRitchie, March 10, 2014 ,
The chilling effect of companies bypassing the SEC’s inexpensive ‘no-action’ process may be coming to an end. Apache, Waste Connections and a growing number of companies have been successful in US district courts in Texas. Finally, we won a landmark case in U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. The law can prevail, even against the weight […]
CalPERS Governance: Election Reforms
James McRitchie, February 19, 2014 ,
Testimony of James McRitchie Finance & Administration Committee, Agenda Item 6b, February 18, 2014 (Staff Report) As the Harold Stassen of CalPERS, having run for the Board more times unsuccessfully than anyone else, I have some experience with the governing rules and favor the actions recommended by staff but with additional improvements to recommendation 2, CEO […]
Quick Bites on Corporate Governance
James McRitchie, February 10, 2014 ,
CorpGov.net publisher/shareowner activist, James McRitchie in the news. Shareholders push for more say over board members (WSJ’s MarketWatch), on proxy access proposals at Bank of America, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Sued again for daring to file proxy proposals, EMC sues shareholder activists over bid to separate CEO, chairman roles (Boston Business Journal). They lost their ‘no-action’ request […]
Take Action: Join Nader's Penny Brigade
James McRitchie, January 29, 2014 ,
Some have argued that Ralph Nader started socially responsible shareholder activism with Campaign GM, when the group filed shareholder proposals to expand GM’s board to include consumer advocates and empower shareholders to place their board nominees on GM’s proxy ballot (proxy access). According to a recent article in the WSJ, the longtime consumer advocate is now putting […]
United Natural Foods (UNFI): How I Voted – Proxy Score 75
James McRitchie, December 12, 2013 ,
United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 12/18/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four funds when I checked and voted on 12/11/2013. I voted with management 75% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank are […]
Cisco: How Our Proxy Competition Would Work – The Short Version
James McRitchie, November 15, 2013 ,
After posting Cisco Systems: Prime Target For Proxy Advisor Competition, Cisco Systems: Proxy Proposal #5 – 11 Q&A, and Cisco Systems (CSCO): How I Voted – Proxy Score 56 I am still getting the most basic question from funds trying to determine how to vote. That’s understandable. People lack the time necessary to analyze proxy issues. That’s one of […]
Dialogue – QVB vs Proxy Exchange: Buy Votes or Assign Them?
James McRitchie, August 6, 2013 ,
I recently wrote on what I thought were conflicting ideas. As I’ve indicated in the past, I disabled comments because of too much spam, even with filters. However, I encourage readers to comment via e-mail. Sometimes we get a good exchange. Here’s a recent example, starting with the first two paragraphs from the post, then […]
End Zombie Directors: Action Needed for Majority Vote Mandate
James McRitchie, July 17, 2013 ,
I urge readers to support the June 20th petition by the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) to the NYSE and Nasdaq for the exchanges to require listed companies to elect directors by majority vote in uncontested elections. CII’s letters to both exchanges are posted here. (more…)
Video Friday: Kalpona Akter Presents McRitchie's Proposal at WalMart
James McRitchie, June 14, 2013 ,
Kalpona Akter, a former child worker in the Bangladesh garment industry, is now an activist for worker safety in her country. At Walmart’s 2013 Annual Shareholders Meeting, Kalpona addressed the Board of Directors and shareholders about the horrible conditions many garment workers are exposed to in Walmart’s supply chain. She called on Walmart to take […]
Garment Worker to Access WalMart Annual Meeting
James McRitchie, June 5, 2013 ,
I am delighted to announce that Kalpona Akter, a former garment worker from Bangladesh who is the executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, will have access to the floor of the WalMart ($WMT) annual meeting on Friday, June 7 in Bentonville, Arkansas. She has been an outspoken critic of sweatshop conditions in Bangladesh […]
Wal-Mart Stores $WMT – Proxy Score 57
James McRitchie, June 3, 2013 ,
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 6/6/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of three funds when I checked on 5/31/2013. I voted with management 57% of the time. View Proxy Statement. (more…)
How I Voted: Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) – Proxy Score 50%
James McRitchie, May 2, 2013 ,
Gilead Sciences, Inc. ($GILD) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/8/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of six funds when I checked on 4/30/2013. I voted with management 50% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank are voted in favor […]
Guns and Divestment
James McRitchie, April 11, 2013 ,
The California Constitution provides that the Legislature may, by statute, prohibit retirement board investments if in the public interest and providing the prohibition satisfies specified fiduciary standards. Current law prohibits the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS from investing public employee retirement funds in a company with active business operations in Sudan and Iran, as specified. AB […]
Proxy Access Proposals Move Forward
James McRitchie, April 4, 2013 ,
On March 26, 2012, SEC staff issued their decision on a request by iRobot (IRBT) to exclude my proxy access proposal from their proxy. Although similar proposals had survived no-action requests last year, IRB management held out hopes that small changes made in the proposal might have made the proposal “vague” under rule 14a-8(1)(3) or “ordinary […]
Contest: Foxhole of the Year Award
James McRitchie, April 3, 2013 ,
Corporate Governance was founded in 1995 and we have never run a contest… until now. Announcing the Foxhole of the Year Award for the company that makes it the most difficult for shareowners turn up at their annual meeting. Our first nomination came from John Chevedden for FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE). According to the $17 billion company: […]
TD Ameritrade: How I Voted – Proxy Score 0%
James McRitchie, February 8, 2013 ,
TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. ($AMTD) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 2/13/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of only two funds when I voted on 2/7/2012. I voted with management 0% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank will be […]
100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior
James McRitchie, January 15, 2013 ,
CHESTER, NEW JERSEY, January 14, 2013. Trust Across America, global leaders in information, standards and data, and Who’s Who in trustworthy business has selected 2013’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior. These people collectively represent a group that can genuinely transform the way organizations do business. Consider following us on Twitter. According to […]
UNFI Vote: Have We Turned the Corner on Annual Elections?
James McRitchie, December 24, 2012 ,
My proposal to declassify the board at United Natural Foods, Inc. ($UNFI) passed by an overwhelming margin of 87.89%: 38,086,048 for 5,248,963 against See their 8-K filing. Text (pdf) of proposal and opposition. Of course, the margin would have been even higher without insider holdings and blank votes going to management. Have we turned the corner on declassification measures […]
James McRitchie Honored by NACD
James McRitchie, October 17, 2012 ,
Sacramento, CA (Oct. 8, 2012) — James McRitchie download <https://www.corpgov.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/resume2012.pdf>, Publisher of Corporate Governance (aka, CorpGov.net) <https://www.corpgov.net>, has been named to the 2012 National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship 100’s “People to Watch” in recognition of his exemplary leadership in influencing corporate boards and for promoting the highest standards of corporate governance. Selected by […]
Victory at Procter & Gamble
James McRitchie, October 10, 2012 ,
At yesterdays annual meeting, shareowners voted in favor of my wife’s proposal to repeal supermajority standards, such as the 80% standard needed to change or add board members. (more…)
Upcoming Proxy Access Votes
James McRitchie, May 15, 2012 ,
Loren Steffy, of the Houston Chronicle, and Sean Quinn, of the ISS Governance Institute, had recent posts about proxy access and upcoming votes. At Hewlett Packard a shareholder access proposal was withdrawn after the company agreed to sponsor a (more…)