Corning board OKs plan to move to annual elections Associated Press, 10.07.09, 05:51 PM EDT
CORNING, N.Y. -- Glass maker Corning Inc. on Wednesday said its board approved a plan to phase in annual election of directors.
If approved by shareholders at its April 2010 annual meeting, the plan allows for annual elections beginning the following year, with all directors subject to annual election by 2013. Currently, directors are divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms.
The board also adopted a majority vote policy for the election of directors, and added the policy to its corporate governance guidelines. Under the policy, any director who receives a greater number of votes "withheld" than "for" in an uncontested election will be required to tender a resignation. The board's nominating committee would then recommend whether to accept that resignation, and the board would be required to decide within 90 days.
Annual election of directors is considered among the "best practices" that shareholder advocates and others have been encouraging public companies to adopt in recent years.