CalPERS Pushes for Board Independence At Lance; System Believes Family Control Hinders Accountability.Business Editors SACRAMENTO Sacramento, city, United States Sacramento (săkrəmĕn`tō), city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2001 The California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) today urged shareholders of Lance, Inc., a snack food corporation based in Charlotte, North Carolina “Charlotte” redirects here. For other uses, see Charlotte (disambiguation). Charlotte is the largest city in the state of North Carolina and the 20th largest city in the United States. , to vote for its shareholder proposal #3 on Lance's proxy statement Proxy Statement A document containing the information that a company is required by the SEC to provide to shareholders so they can make informed decisions about matters that will be brought up at an annual stockholder meeting. . The proposal would require 100 percent of Lance's Audit, Nominating, and Compensation Committees of the Board be comprised of independent directors, as defined in the proposal. CalPERS letter to Lance's shareholders can be found on the System's Shareowner share·own·er n. See shareholder. Noun 1. shareowner - someone who holds shares of stock in a corporation shareholder, stockholder investor - someone who commits capital in order to gain financial returns Forum at www.calpers-governance.org. "Because the van Every Family owns 85 percent of Lance's stock, they can effectively control board decisions," said James E. Burton, Chief Executive Officer of CalPERS. "Requiring independent directors on these committees is essential to protect all shareholders interests." "Each of these committees has at least one director who is affiliated with the company," he added. "We believe the best way to assure that Lance's public shareholders are considered equally is to require that the committees are comprised of 100 percent totally independent directors." According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Lance's March 28, 2001 proxy statement, $100 invested in the company on December 31, 1995 was worth approximately $102 five years later. The same $100 invested in the peer group selected by Lance appreciated to more than $141, and if invested in the S&P 500 was worth more than $237 over the same time period. CalPERS owns approximately 364,000 shares of Lance. Earlier this year, CalPERS named Lance to its 2001 focus list of corporate governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. due to poor stock performance and inside directors who serve on key committees. CalPERS is the nation's largest public pension fund with assets totaling more than $160 billion. The System provides retirement and health benefits to 1.2 million State and local public employees and their families. For further information on CalPERS, please visit the System's web site at www.calpers.ca.gov. |
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