An Inconvenient Location for the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting

As most proxy season observers know, one of the oldest tricks in the book for defusing angry shareholders is to hold the annual stockholders’ meeting in some far-flung location, as noted in this recent Wall Street Journal article.  I’ve blogged about this topic once in a blue moon (or left comments on other blogs).

With the growing importance of annual shareholder meetings–due to the majority-vote movement and the potential elimination of broker non-votes in director elections–I believe it’s simply too risky from an investor relations perspective for any company to hold their meeting at an inconvenient location.  It’s only a matter of time before some bright journalist starts an annual “Top Ten Inconvenient Locations” list.  Trust me: no company wants to experience the heat that Home Depot did for its various annual meeting snafus last year…