Most Shopify investors opposed CEO power gain, advisory firm says
BNN Bloomberg
Shopify’s plan to enhance CEO Tobi Lutke’s power was likely opposed by most of the company’s shareholders -- yet it passed anyway because of a single influential director, according to investor advisory firm Glass Lewis
Shopify said last week that 54 per cent of shareholders approved a board proposal to grant Lutke a “founder share” with special voting rights at the company’s June 7 annual meeting.
But Glass Lewis says the math suggests a strong majority of shareholders actually opposed giving Lutke the special share. It appears the proposal squeaked through only because of the votes of longtime director John Phillips, whose Klister Credit Corp. is the only shareholder other than Lutke to control a significant number of Shopify Class B shares.
The B shares, which aren’t listed on an exchange, carry 10 votes each, giving Phillips just enough power to tip the vote in favor of Lutke despite the opposition of the much larger group of common shareholders, according to Glass Lewis.
