Facebook shareholders try to remove Zuckerberg as chairman

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has yet again come under fire, as the company’s shareholders are suggesting to remove him as the chairman after a decline in shares.

Last week Facebook had a disappointing earnings report leading to a 21% decrease in the company’s shares, wiping as much as $148 billion off its value. One of the investors even drew a proposal claiming for CEO and chairman Zuckerberg to be removed as the social media site’s chairman, reported initially by Business Insider.

An investment company that holds an $11 million stake in Facebook, Trillium Asset Management lead the charge and filed the proposal after the earnings report, stating the company’s ‘mishandling’ of recent scandals, including Cambridge Analytica and Russian interference in 2016 elections.

Mark Zuckerberg gains $1.7 billion after launch of Instagram Television

The proposal accounts for appointing an independent chairman for the company, removing Zuckerberg from playing a dual role for both positions as CEO and chairman. “A CEO who also serves as chair can exert excessive influence on the board and its agenda, weakening the board’s oversight of management,” the proposal states.

“Separating the chair and CEO positions reduces this conflict, and an independent chair provides the clearest separation of power between the CEO and the rest of the board.”

The Sun wrote, even Zuckerberg went through a loss of over $15 billion in his net worth within five minutes as Facebook’s stock fell, also dropping him down four spots in Forbes’ World Billionaires List. This share price drip marked as Facebook’s worst 24 hours of trading since six years, wrote Daily Mail.

Moreover, the proposal also argues that the shareholders are unable to check Zuckerberg’s power since he holds almost 60% of the company voting power along with holding the two highest positions. However, the chances of Zuckerberg being removed as Facebook’s chairman are low since similar requests have already been rejected in the past.

The proposal states, “Having an independent chair helps the board carry out its primary duty – to monitor the management of the company on behalf of its shareowners. We believe this lack of independent board chair and oversight has contributed to Facebook missing, or mishandling, a number of severe controversies, increasing risk exposure and costs to shareholders.”