IBM Pay Plan Narrowly Passes With 46% of Investors Opposed
- Board’s compensation decisions draw lowest support since 2011
- Proxy advisers flagged CEO’s one-time grant, lack of targets
Ginni Rometty.
Photographer: David Becker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
IBM’s compensation plan for top executives drew record shareholder opposition after the board boosted Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty’s pay package more than 60 percent last year.
About 46 percent of the votes cast at the April 25 annual meeting in Tampa, Florida, went against the board’s pay plan for top bosses, according to a regulatory filing Friday. That’s IBM’s lowest result since votes were first mandated for public companies in 2011. While it isn’t binding, 30 percent opposition is generally considered the threshold for a losing vote and a result that should prompt directors to address shareholder concerns.