Comptroller Stringer’s Boardroom Accountability Campaign Delivers 10,000% Growth in Proxy Access Over Just Five Years
Number of companies with meaningful proxy access skyrocketed from just 6 in 2014, when Comptroller Stringer launched the advocacy initiative, to over 600 now
Revolutionary “Boardroom Accountability” initiative has reshaped outdated and insular corporate board election process at over 71 percent of S&P 500 companies
(New York, NY) — New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and the New York City Retirement Systems (“the Systems”) today announced that more than 600 companies – including over 71 percent of the S&P 500 – have adopted “proxy access” as a result of the flagship “Boardroom Accountability” initiative launched by Comptroller Stringer’s office in 2014. This new watershed marks a 10,000 percent surge in companies with the rule from just 6 companies in 2014, when the transformative initiative launched.
Proxy access gives large, long-term shareholders like the City’s pension funds the ability to nominate directors to company boards – boosting corporate accountability and giving New York City pensioners a stronger voice in the long-term oversight of the companies the Systems invest in, including on issues related to the diversity of board members, the company’s approach to climate change, and treatment of employees. The increased board responsiveness provided by proxy access has pushed some 62 companies to nominate 77 new board directors who identify as a woman or person of color – including 59 women, 19 African Americans, five Hispanic Americans, two Asian Americans, and one Middle Eastern American. Moreover, at least 24 companies have publicly committed to include women and people of color in the candidate pool for every board search going forward, also known as the “Rooney Rule.”
“This is what progress looks like. Our campaign to change the face of corporate America is delivering groundbreaking change. In just five years, proxy access has radically transformed the corporate landscape, and what was once an obscure bylaw at just a handful of companies is now the market standard across the largest companies in the U.S.,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Corporations have been in the business of raising barriers, shutting blinds, and avoiding accountability for far too long. Proxy access gives us the leverage to flip that script, and break open the insular systems which have enabled excessive CEO pay, dismal levels of boardroom diversity, and inaction on climate change. Most importantly, stronger board oversight leads to better long-term performance, and helps protect the retirement security of hundreds of thousands of hardworking New Yorkers.”
In 2003, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) first proposed a universal proxy access rule in response to board failures at Enron and WorldCom, which failed in the face of strong corporate opposition. After the 2008 financial crisis, the SEC again proposed proxy access, enacting it in August of 2010 which was later challenged by the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in court and vacated on procedural grounds. It was not until Comptroller Stringer launched the Boardroom Accountability Project in 2014 that proxy access began to take hold at companies across the U.S. and shifted the landscape of the debate as hundreds of companies began to adopt the rule.
Over 35 companies targeted by the Comptroller’s office have adopted proxy access in the past year, including persistent hold-outs such as Netflix where proxy access has received a majority vote for four consecutive years before ultimately being enacted. With proxy access, these companies are – for the first time – giving their investors a rightful voice through greater nomination powers on issues ranging from transparency, to the diversity and independence of the companies’ Boards of Directors, to other long-term investor interests such as climate change, excessive executive compensation, and treatment of employees.
To view an updated list of companies with meaningful proxy access, click here.
To read more about Comptroller Stringer’s Boardroom Accountability Project, click here.
Comptroller Stringer serves as the investment advisor to, and custodian and a trustee of, the New York City Pension Funds. The New York City Pension Funds are composed of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund and the Board of Education Retirement System.
In addition to Comptroller Stringer, the New York City Pension Funds’ trustees are:
New York City Employees’ Retirement System: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Representative, John Adler (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Gale Brewer (Manhattan), Melinda Katz (Queens), Eric Adams (Brooklyn), James Oddo (Staten Island), and Ruben Diaz, Jr. (Bronx); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Tony Utano, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.
Teachers’ Retirement System: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Appointee, John Adler; Chancellor’s Representative, Lindsey Oates, New York City Department of Education; Debra Penny, Thomas Brown and David Kazansky, all of the United Federation of Teachers; and Natalie Green Giles, Panel for Educational Policy.
New York City Police Pension Fund: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Representative, John Adler; New York City Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha; New York City Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill (Chair); Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association; Louis Turco, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; and, Patrick Lynch, John Puglissi, Joseph Alejandro, and Juan Zubizarreta all of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
New York City Fire Pension Fund: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Representative, John Adler; New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Jacques Jiha; Gerard Fitzgerald, President, LeRoy McGinnis, Vice President, Edward Brown, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Liam Guilfoyle, Captains’ Rep.; Paul Mannix, Chiefs’ Rep., and Jack Kielty, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Peter Devita, Marine Engineers Association.
Board of Education Retirement System: Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza; Mayoral: Isaac Carmignani, Natalie Green Giles, Vanessa Leung, Gary Linnen, Lori Podvesker, Shannon Waite, Miguelina Zorilla-Aristy; Michael Kraft (Manhattan BP), Deborah Dillingham (Queens BP), April Chapman (Brooklyn BP), Geneal Chacon (Bronx BP) and Peter Calandrella (Staten Island BP); and employee members John Maderich of the IUOE Local 891 and Donald Nesbit of District Council 37, Local 372.
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