On Thursday May 3, Glass Lewis held a conference call to discuss counterproposals filed by Hermes and VIP (Vereinigung Institutionelle Privatanleger) at Deutsche Bank against the discharge of the supervisory board. Representatives of Hermes and VIP will provide their perspective on the performance of Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board and discuss why they think shareholders should not approve the discharge of the supervisory board’s acts.
Hermes, a shareholder owning .5% of Deutsche Bank, and VIP, an institutional shareholder association, are requesting that shareholders not ratify the acts of Deutsche Bank’s supervisory board for the 2011 financial year. The main areas of concern are (i) a deficient succession planning process for Dr. Ackermann, the outgoing CEO, including apparent breaches of the duty of confidentiality; (ii) the failed nomination of Dr. Ackermann for election to the supervisory board; (iii) failure to take account of significant investor concerns about management board remuneration; (iv) insufficient alignment of the company culture and strategy with the principle of sustainability; and (vi) failure of the supervisory board to show leadership expected for the company.
To listen to a recording of this talk (WAV format), click here.