CalPERS Shareholder Proposal Seeks Independent Directors For Archer-Daniels Board.SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug.1, 1996--The $100 billion 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) and the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund have joined forces to pressure Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM See add/drop multiplexer. (language) ADM - A picture query language, extension of Sequel2. ["An Image-Oriented Database System", Y. Takao et al, in Database Techniques for Pictorial Applications, A. Blaser ed, pp. 527-538]. ) to add a majority of independent directors to the company's board. The joint shareholder proposal filed by the two systems will be included in ADM's 1996 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 joint shareholder proposal filed on May 14, 1996 urges ADM's Board of Directors to take the necessary steps to amend the company's by-laws to ensure that ADM's Board consist of a majority of independent directors. The proposal is the most recent attempt by CalPERS in a series of actions to seek improvement of ADM's performance that will in turn maximize CalPERS'investment through better 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. . In October of 1995, CalPERS joined other institutional investors Institutional Investor A non-bank person or organization that trades securities in large enough share quantities or dollar amounts that they qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions. announcing that it would vote its 3.5 million shares against the re-election of ADM's existing directors if changes were not made. Following reports of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice over price-fixing, CalPERS asked ADM directors to come forward with a corporate governance program to turn the company around. ADM responded in January of 1996 when an internal corporate governance committee made a recommendation to the ADM Board that called for outside directors to be added to its Board. But while ADM has endorsed the idea of adding independent directors, the Board itself has failed to act. CONTACT: California Public Employees' Retirement System Office of Public Affairs Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called PA. See also command information; community relations; public information. Brad Pacheco/Pat Macht, 916/326-3991 |
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