By Tatiana Bautzer
DALLAS (Reuters) -A Goldman Sachs Group Inc shareholder criticized its Chairman and CEO David Solomon on Wednesday at the bank’s annual meeting and proposed its board appoint an independent chairman.
The proposal, along with eight others put forward by shareholders, failed after receiving the support of 16% of stock holders who voted.
All of Goldman’s management proposals, including the appointment of its directors and executive compensation, were approved at its annual shareholder meeting, which was held in person in Dallas.
“The Goldman Sachs processes look anything but robust — to many of us outside observers and shareholders, they look pretty weak,” Paul Chesser, a director at the National Legal and Policy Center, said at the bank’s annual meeting.
He cited gender lawsuits, junior banker burnout, and reports about Solomon’s use of the company’s private jets as reasons the Wall Street powerhouse should appoint an independent chair.
Shareholder calls for reports on lobbying, climate transition and pay equity got the support of 30% or more voters, according to preliminary tallies.
The bank had urged shareholders to reject investors’ call for the appointment of an independent chairman, saying in its proxy that its directors “take very seriously” their obligations to act in the best interests of the firm and its shareholders.
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in Dallas, additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Lananh Nguyen and Nick Zieminski)
