Cisco Shareholders Support Say on Pay

Nearly half of Cisco ’s shareholders this week supported a Say on Pay proxy resolution by Christian Brothers Investment Services that asks the company to put to a vote the board’s compensation report.

 

The resolution, which CBIS filed along with several members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the groups in which hold nearly 1.2 million shares of Cisco, was submitted this year for the first time at Cisco.  Shareholders (about 48 percent) voiced their support at the company’s annual meeting this week.

 

“Investors are increasingly concerned about mushrooming executive compensation which sometimes appears to be insufficiently aligned with the creation of shareholder value,” Julie Tanner, corporate advocacy coordinator of CBIS, said in a statement. “Our resolution urges Cisco’s board to allow shareholders to express their opinion about senior executive compensation at the company by establishing an annual referendum process.”

 

In May, Cisco CEO John Chambers’ total compensation package neared $71.33  million, including a salary and bonus of just under $2 million.

 

The vote for the resolution is advisory in nature, and the shareholders’ say would not override compensation decisions, rather it would allow them to weigh in on whether they believe the executive compensation package at the company is reasonable.