With 2024 proxy season in full swing, we’ve been taking a look at a lot of interesting questions around governance, performance, and how shareholders vote. In this short piece, we wanted to know which big company directors have the lowest average shareholder support across all of their companies. To be included in this list, a director has to:
- Have a tenure as a director at one or more large-cap companies
- Have an average support less than 90% across all of their companies (regardless of size) since 2018
Our list contains almost 60 directors, many will be familiar names. While some directors are pulled down by a lone directorship of low votes, many show weakness across their companies. Shareholder voting results are an imperfect measure of director performance given a vote against could be on a non-performance related factor (e.g. diversity, environmental, etc), but when a director is consistently receiving lower shareholder support at a single company (a list to come next week!) or across a breadth of companies, it warrants a closer look.
Catch up on the latest Activism and Governance research from Boardroom Alpha:
- CEO Pay: The $25 Million Plus Pay Club
- Despite Shareholders Losing Over 3 Years, CEO Pay is Up at These Companies
- 2024 Say-On-Pay Votes: 25 Companies Where Shareholders Are Unhappy
- Weekly Activism & Executive Moves Review (April 26)
- Vanguard & Blackrock Should Vote “AGAINST” Directors at These April Shareholder Meetings
- Weekly Activism & Executive Moves Review (April 19)
The List of BIG Company Directors with LOW Shareholder Support
| DIRECTOR | AVERAGE SUPPORT | AVG SUPPORT BY COMPANY |
|---|---|---|
| Timothy M Haley | 68% | 38% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 52% – 2U INC (TWOU) 87% – ZUORA INC (ZUO) 96% – THREDUP INC (TDUP) |
| Richard N Barton | 70% | 40% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 75% – QURATE RETAIL INC (QRTEA) 96% – ZILLOW GROUP INC (ZG) |
| Sanford Robertson | 75% | 60% – CASSAVA SCIENCES INC (SAVA) 90% – SALESFORCE INC (CRM) |
| Edward J Rapp | 75% | 55% – XOS INC (XOS) 95% – ABBVIE INC (ABBV) |
| Ann Mather | 76% | 44% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 55% – ARISTA NETWORKS INC (ANET) 86% – ALPHABET INC (GOOGL) 96% – BLEND LABS INC (BLND) 97% – BUMBLE INC (BMBL) |
| John M Dineen | 77% | 31% – MERRIMACK PHARMACEUTICALS INC (MACK) 99% – COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP (CTSH) 99% – LAM RESEARCH CORP (LRCX) |
| James R Murdoch | 77% | 74% – NEWS CORP (NWSA) 80% – TESLA INC (TSLA) |
| Elizabeth G Nabel | 78% | 51% – ACCOLADE INC (ACCD) 87% – MODERNA INC (MRNA) 97% – MEDTRONIC PLC (MDT) |
| George H Conrades | 82% | 72% – ORACLE CORP (ORCL) 92% – CYCLERION THERAPEUTICS INC (CYCN) |
| James C Mullen | 82% | 67% – EDITAS MEDICINE INC (EDIT) 98% – THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC (TMO) |
| Bahija Jallal | 82% | 67% – GUARDANT HEALTH INC (GH) 98% – ELEVANCE HEALTH INC (ELV) |
| Lloyd Carney | 82% | 70% – GRID DYNAMICS HOLDINGS INC (GDYN) 85% – VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC (VRTX) 91% – VISA INC (V) |
| Jay C Hoag | 82% | 60% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 82% – TRIPADVISOR INC (TRIP) 89% – PELOTON INTERACTIVE INC (PTON) 89% – ELECTRONIC ARTS INC (EA) 93% – ZILLOW GROUP INC (ZG) |
| Mark J Rubash | 83% | 70% – IRHYTHM TECHNOLOGIES INC (IRTC) 97% – INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC (ISRG) |
| Thomas J Baltimore Jr | 83% | 74% – PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL INC (PRU) 77% – COMCAST CORP (CMCSA) 81% – AMERICAN EXPRESS CO (AXP) 89% – AUTONATION INC (AN) 91% – PARK HOTELS & RESORTS INC (PK) |
| Antonio J Gracias | 83% | 77% – HARMONY BIOSCIENCES HOLDINGS INC (HRMY) 89% – TESLA INC (TSLA) |
| Abhijit Y Talwalkar | 83% | 70% – IRHYTHM TECHNOLOGIES INC (IRTC) 89% – ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC (AMD) 90% – LAM RESEARCH CORP (LRCX) |
| Leslie J Kilgore | 85% | 62% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 95% – PINTEREST INC (PINS) 99% – NEXTDOOR HOLDINGS INC (KIND) |
| Bruce R Chizen | 85% | 77% – ORACLE CORP (ORCL) 80% – SYNOPSYS INC (SNPS) 89% – CHARGEPOINT HOLDINGS INC (CHPT) 94% – INFORMATICA INC (INFA) |
| Ellen R Marram | 85% | 80% – ELI LILLY & CO (LLY) 89% – FORD MOTOR CO (F) |
| John W Ketchum | 85% | 76% – NEXTERA ENERGY PARTNERS LP (NEP) 94% – NEXTERA ENERGY INC (NEE) |
| Michael P Connors | 85% | 73% – CHUBB LTD (CB) 96% – INFORMATION SERVICES GROUP INC (III) |
| Miles D White | 85% | 78% – CATERPILLAR INC (CAT) 84% – MCDONALDS CORP (MCD) 94% – ABBOTT LABORATORIES (ABT) |
| Timothy M Armstrong | 85% | 72% – WHEELS UP EXPERIENCE INC (UP) 97% – BOOKING HOLDINGS INC (BKNG) |
| Todd M Bluedorn | 85% | 68% – EATON CORP PLC (ETN) 91% – TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC (TXN) 95% – LENNOX INTERNATIONAL INC (LII) |
| Tom A Alberg | 85% | 74% – IMPINJ INC (PI) 97% – AMAZON COM INC (AMZN) |
| Maggie Wilderotter | 86% | 61% – DOCUSIGN INC (DOCU) 86% – LYFT INC (LYFT) 90% – COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP (COST) 93% – HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE CO (HPE) 99% – CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS INC (CDNS) |
| Peter Thiel | 86% | 73% – ABCELLERA BIOLOGICS INC (ABCL) 92% – META PLATFORMS INC (META) 93% – PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC (PLTR) |
| Julius Genachowski | 87% | 78% – SONOS INC (SONO) 97% – MASTERCARD INC (MA) |
| Martha Frances Keeth | 87% | 77% – ARROW ELECTRONICS INC (ARW) 97% – VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC (VZ) |
| Mathias Dopfner | 87% | 74% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 99% – WARNER MUSIC GROUP CORP (WMG) |
| M Michele Burns | 87% | 70% – ETSY INC (ETSY) 94% – CISCO SYSTEMS INC (CSCO) 96% – GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC (GS) |
| Reed Hastings | 87% | 81% – NETFLIX INC (NFLX) 93% – META PLATFORMS INC (META) |
| Carrie Smith Cox | 87% | 86% – CARTESIAN THERAPEUTICS INC (RNAC) 87% – CARDINAL HEALTH INC (CAH) 87% – TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC (TXN) 88% – ORGANON & CO (OGN) |
| Robert L Dixon Jr | 87% | 77% – BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC (BBW) 87% – OKTA INC (OKTA) 97% – ELEVANCE HEALTH INC (ELV) |
| Sandra B Cochran | 87% | 78% – DOLLAR GENERAL CORP (DG) 90% – CRACKER BARREL OLD COUNTRY STORE INC (CBRL) 94% – LOWES COMPANIES INC (LOW) |
| Scott M Sperling | 87% | 79% – MADISON SQUARE GARDEN SPORTS CORP (MSGS) 94% – THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC (TMO) |
| Teresa Briggs | 87% | 71% – DOCUSIGN INC (DOCU) 83% – SNOWFLAKE INC (SNOW) 97% – SERVICENOW INC (NOW) 98% – WARBY PARKER INC (WRBY) |
| James L Robo | 87% | 81% – NEXTERA ENERGY PARTNERS LP (NEP) 90% – HUNT J B TRANSPORT SERVICES INC (JBHT) 91% – NEXTERA ENERGY INC (NEE) |
| James J Goetz | 87% | 76% – PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC (PANW) 98% – INTEL CORP (INTC) |
| James A Johnson | 87% | 83% – ATHIRA PHARMA INC (ATHA) 91% – GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC (GS) |
| Edward D Breen | 87% | 76% – INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC (IFF) 90% – COMCAST CORP (CMCSA) 96% – DUPONT DE NEMOURS INC (DD) |
| A Shane Sanders | 87% | 75% – DANAHER CORP (DHR) 99% – COMMVAULT SYSTEMS INC (CVLT) |
| Keith R Leonard | 88% | 82% – UNITY BIOTECHNOLOGY INC (UBX) 95% – INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC (ISRG) |
| Mark Garrett | 88% | 71% – PURE STORAGE INC (PSTG) 87% – SNOWFLAKE INC (SNOW) 89% – GODADDY INC (GDDY) 95% – AXALTA COATING SYSTEMS LTD (AXTA) 96% – CISCO SYSTEMS INC (CSCO) |
| Clark T Randt Jr | 88% | 81% – QUALCOMM INC (QCOM) 81% – VALMONT INDUSTRIES INC (VMI) 94% – UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC (UPS) 97% – WYNN RESORTS LTD (WYNN) |
| Rodney C Adkins | 88% | 79% – PPL CORP (PPL) 83% – AVNET INC (AVT) 91% – WW GRAINGER INC (GWW) 93% – UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC (UPS) 94% – PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC (PYPL) |
| John W Rogers Jr | 88% | 64% – NIKE INC (NKE) 93% – MCDONALDS CORP (MCD) 96% – EXELON CORP (EXC) 98% – NEW YORK TIMES CO (NYT) |
| Michael L Eskew | 88% | 79% – ELI LILLY & CO (LLY) 86% – INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP (IBM) 93% – ALLSTATE CORP (ALL) 93% – 3M CO (MMM) |
| Alan G Spoon | 88% | 85% – MATCH GROUP INC (MTCH) 86% – IAC INC (IAC) 87% – DANAHER CORP (DHR) 91% – FORTIVE CORP (FTV) 91% – CABLE ONE INC (CABO) |
| Mark C Vadon | 88% | 77% – QURATE RETAIL INC (QRTEA) 99% – HOME DEPOT INC (HD) |
| Darren Walker | 89% | 76% – RALPH LAUREN CORP (RL) 94% – BLOCK INC (SQ) 98% – PEPSICO INC (PEP) |
| Maria Elena Lagomasino | 89% | 83% – WALT DISNEY CO (DIS) 95% – COCA COLA CO (KO) |
| Dara Khosrowshahi | 89% | 71% – EXPEDIA GROUP INC (EXPE) 97% – AURORA INNOVATION INC (AUR) 98% – UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC (UBER) |
| Barry Diller | 89% | 82% – EXPEDIA GROUP INC (EXPE) 87% – COCA COLA CO (KO) 89% – MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL (MGM) 93% – IAC INC (IAC) 96% – MATCH GROUP INC (MTCH) |
| Thomas W Horton | 89% | 80% – QUALCOMM INC (QCOM) 88% – GENERAL ELECTRIC CO (GE) 97% – WALMART INC (WMT) |
| Michelle Kumbier | 89% | 79% – TELEDYNE TECHNOLOGIES INC (TDY) 98% – ABBOTT LABORATORIES (ABT) |