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Mark Zuckerberg's forehead is probably a little wetter than usual this afternoon. On Wednesday, several major public funds issued a statement in which they supported an initiative to remove Facebook's founder from his position as chairman of the board of directors. In the midst of countless scandals and a steady decline in stock prices, the effort would almost certainly succeed in any other company.
This morning, the State Treasurers of Rhode Island, Illinois and Pennsylvania joined forces with the New York City Comptroller to sign a proposal first presented by Trillium Asset Management in June. Between them, officials control hundreds of billions of dollars of public investment and pension funds. They are asking Facebook shareholders to consider replacing Zuckerberg with an independent chairman. In their statement, they pointed out that 59% of S & P 1500 companies separate the roles of CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors to ensure proper independent oversight of the governance of the board. ;business. They also said that this oversight was necessary because Facebook had mismanaged "a number of serious controversies". The incomplete list of recent scandals that they have provided includes:
- Russia "meddles in US elections" on Facebook
- The "sharing of personal data of 87 million users" which then culminated at Cambridge Analytica
- "Data sharing with device manufacturers, including Huawei," which US intelligence has identified (with little public evidence) as a threat to national security
- The proliferation of "false news" on its platform
- The spread of messages on his platform that fueled violence in Myanmar, India and South Sudan
- "Depression and other mental health issues, including stress and addiction," which may result from Facebook's use
- "Allow advertisers to exclude" ethnic affinities "from blacks, Hispanics and other commercials from advertising"
If the letter had been published a few hours later, the list could have included today 's news that Facebook voluntarily inflated the statistics of the video, thus deceiving advertisers and persuading media companies to Invest heavily in video services, according to recently filed documents in a possible class action. Facebook has denied any wrongdoing.
Scott Stringer, Controller of New York City, said, "We need Facebook's insular boardroom to seriously engage with the real risks – reputation, regulation, and risks to our democracy – that are having an impact. about the company, its shareholders and finally. hard-earned pensions from thousands of workers in New York City. According to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Pension Fund held 4.7 million Facebook shares as of March 31, currently valued at $ 745 million. The other three state officials oversee about $ 32 million worth of Facebook shares.
Aside from a few hikes, Facebook's share price has dropped since July 25, rising from an all-time high of $ 217 per share to $ 158 per share. Although the latest corporate scandals (including a massive data breach) can affect this decline, it's also the fact that Facebook is about to run out of steam to attract new users and fuel growth. .
We contacted Facebook to comment on this story, but did not receive an immediate response.
That this proposal receives overwhelming support from shareholders is almost completely inconsistent. Thanks to a special structure, Zuckerberg shares count 10 times more than its vote, unlike the other shareholders. It currently controls approximately 60% of the voting rights of the company. It is possible that a demonstration of shareholder discontent will cause him to withdraw, but this seems unlikely. In July, he spoke to Recode about all the scandals and said, "I've designed the platform, so if anyone needs to get fired for that, it should be me." Despite the logical of this feeling, he is always there.
[Trillium Asset Management, Reuters]Source link
