Which company’s CEO has listened to and heeded shareholders’ demands to step down and give up the title of chairman inside the company?
1. Wal-Mart
2. Whole Foods Market Inc.
3. McDonalds
If you guessed “2. Whole Foods Market Inc.” you are exactly right!
The chief executive officer of the organic supermarket Whole Foods Market Inc. has finally given in to years of petitioning and demands by shareholders that the two roles be separated out and filled by different people.
ABC News reports that the co-founder and current CEO of the company, John Mackey, recently agreed to hand over his title as chairman. This marks the first time in three years that the voices of a shareholder activist group have been heard, as they’ve been petitioning for the change all along.
Clearly, the group was in need of a more effective shareholder voting system. At last year’s annual shareholders meeting for Whole Foods, the proposal was unsuccessful; soon after the group called for Mackey’s all-out removal.
Perhaps the ordeal could have been avoided with an electronic voting system for shareholders to make them feel as though their opinions were being feelings heard. The ability for shareholders to cast their vote with 100% accuracy at annual meetings would have meant that Whole Foods could have tackled this much more efficiently.
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