Facebook’s (FB) major investors are asking for the removal of CEO Mark Zuckerberg as chairman of the board. The group includes government officials and public funds. The proposal, which calls for the role of chairman to be made an independent position, is set to be voted on at the company’s shareholder meeting in May 2019.
Trillium Asset Management first brought the proposal forward in June. The hedge fund is now being joined by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer as well as treasurers from the states of Pennsylvania, Illinois and Rhode Island.
The proposal is seen as largely figurative as Zuckerberg holds complete control of the board through majority voting power
The proposal is seen as largely figurative as Zuckerberg holds complete control of the board through majority voting power and although several similar proposals were brought forward on earlier occasions, none have passed.
The shareholders believe that Facebook has a major role to play in society which demands greater accountability that seems to be lacking in the current scenario. The group reportedly feels the leadership failed to manage the company properly leading to several controversies related to data privacy and election meddling.
From early on in the year, Facebook has been hit with scandals and security breaches which have hurt the stock and sparked litigation problems for the company as well. At the last annual shareholders meeting in June this year, investors grilled the management over the data misuse issue and put forth several proposals including changes to the voting structure and more transparency. All the proposals were turned down.
Facebook did not provide any comment on the matter. As of 3:25 pm ET, the stock was up 0.48%.