EMC investors gain SEC support for board-change vote

EMC Corp. shareholders said they won U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission support for two resolutions requesting a proxy vote to change the composition of the company’s board.


The resolutions ask Hopkington, Mass.-based EMC, the largest maker of computer data- storage systems, to “diversify its white male board” and to “create an independent board,” the group said in a statement. Sponsors of the resolutions include Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, Walden Asset Management and Calvert Group, the statement said. The SEC advised EMC to put the resolutions in its 2002 proxy, according to the statement.


Since publicity surrounding Enron Corp.’s bankruptcy, “you need to have a board that is attentive to shareholders,” said Tim Smith, senior vice president of Walden Asset Management.


The coalition of more than 20 shareholders that support the resolutions represent about 2.7 million EMC shares, he said. That’s about a tenth of a percent of EMC’s outstanding shares.


EMC opposes the resolutions, “not because we oppose the goals, but because it’s important to be flexible. The resolutions limit our flexibility,” said EMC spokesman Mark Fredrickson. “Diversity is always a goal, but we look for the best candidates.”

Bloomberg News