AFL-CIO votes against Steve Jobs’ reelection to Disney board

15 years ago

“On the eve of the Walt Disney Co.’s annual meeting Wednesday in Salt Lake City, an influential shareholder advisory firm is raising questions about the decision to recommend the return of Steve Jobs to the entertainment giant’s board despite his frequent absences,” Dawn C. Chmielewski reports for The Los Angeles Times.

“While stopping short of recommending a vote against Jobs’ reelection to the Disney board, Institutional Shareholder Services said the media company’s largest individual shareholder had attended fewer than 75% of board and committee meetings in three of the last four years. The firm acknowledged Jobs’ ongoing medical problems but said that shareholders deserved more of an explanation for his nomination,” Chmielewski reports. “‘Jobs’ poor attendance in three of the past four years, and recent leave of absence from his primary employer, raises questions about his ability to fulfill his responsibilities as a director of the company,’ ISS wrote in a recommendation to shareholders.”

Chmielewski reports, “The AFL-CIO, which holds about 3.8 million Disney shares in union funds, voted against Jobs’ return to the Disney board… Jobs, who holds more than 7% of Disney’s stock, has served as a director of the company since its 2006 acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios, where he served as chairman and CEO. Neither Disney nor Apple said whether Jobs would attend Wednesday’s shareholder meeting.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: An absent Steve Jobs is worth more than most corporate BoD members, if not all.

[Attribution: Cult of Mac. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]