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Prudential Holder Call For Split Chairman, CEO Fails by Narrow Margin PRU Prudential Holder Call For Split Chairman, CEO Fails by Narrow Margin PRU Dow Jones By Colin Kellaher A shareholder proposal calling for a separation of the chairman and chief executive positions at Prudential Financial Inc. failed to pass but drew support from 47% of the shares voted at the life-insurance giant's annual meeting. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Prudential said about 113.2 million shares were voted in favor of the proposal, while roughly 125.9 million shares were voted against. A similar measure garnered the support of nearly 40% of the shares voted at the 2018 annual meeting but wasn't on the ballot last year. Corporate governance experts, shareholders and regulators have been prodding public companies to separate the top roles, arguing a standalone chairman can act as a counterweight to a standalone CEO. Charles Lowrey has been chairman and CEO of Prudential since December 2018, and the shareholder proposal allowed for implementation of the policy with the next CEO transition. Prudential had urged investors to reject the proposal, saying it believes shareholder interests are best served if the board has the flexibility to determine the best person to serve as chairman, whether that person is an independent director or the CEO. Prudential also said the "skills, experience, dedication and time commitment" of Thomas Baltimore, a board member since 2008 who has served as lead independent director since 2017, "make him well-qualified to serve in this role." Prudential's entire 12-member board slate was re-elected at the meeting, though about 33.9% of the shares voted were against Mr. Baltimore's re-election. |
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