Walmart re-elects its board, but dissent is evident

At an event celebrating Walmart’s 50th anniversary, the company said all the company’s board nominees had been re-elected.

The

Financial Times

noted

that this result was not surprising, since the founding Walton family owns nearly 50% of the company shares, and “declared investor rebels” control less than 1%.

However, the

FT

noted in

a subsequent report,

support for chairman Rob Walton, CEO Mike Duke and Duke’s predecessor, Lee Scott, fell sharply from last year.

The U.S.’s two largest pension funds, along with other investors, had voted against some or all of the nominated directors to protest recent charges of bribery at Walmart’s Mexican businesses and a perceived lack of independence on the board, the

FT

report said. According to the report, Walmart says 11 of its 16 board nominees are independent.

New York City comptroller John Liu, who ordered five public pension funds to vote against certain directors, said, “The results are a vote of no confidence that sends a message to Walmart’s entire board.”

According to the

FT,

Rob Walton received 87.37% of total votes. The article noted, “If the Walton family together with company insiders voted roughly 50% of outstanding shares for him, that indicates that more than 25% of independent investors opposed him.”

Rob Walton, son of founder Sam Walton, spoke at the 50th anniversary event. He said, “Let me be clear. Acting with integrity is not a negotiable part of this business. It is our business,” the

FT

article said.

At the celebration, which was hosted by pop star Justin Timberlake, Walmart employee Jackie Goebel introduced a proposal on executive pay and drew loud cheers. According to the

FT

report, Goebel said of the Mexico scandal, “We have seen what happened in Mexico, when some people are so focused on growth at any cost that they forgot our code of ethics.”

The

FT

report noted that Walmart said in a regulatory filing that it was facing several previously undisclosed lawsuits over the Mexico allegations. (Source:

Financial Times,

June 2-3, 2012 and June 5, 2012.)