Those present also watched as security guards ejected one audience member for disrupting the proceedings.
Isdell, who returned to Coke in 2004 from retirement, stepped down as chairman of the board. Muhtar Kent, who became CEO last year, will also take that role.
Activist shareholder Ray Rogers, who frequently attends Coke annual meetings, started the session by loudly raising questions about the company’s human rights record. Isdell pointed to internal and external reviews that showed Coke respected human rights.
Rogers was followed by a more agitated attendee, who identified himself as a “shareholder from New York” and criticised the way the board of directors was composed. After he failed to yield the floor to Isdell, security guards escorted him from the room. Many in the audience applauded his ejection.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola holds most of its meetings in Delaware where, like many companies, it is incorporated.
The Duluth event drew Eli Jones Senior, a seventy year old Atlanta resident who bought Coke stock about ten year ago. “It was interesting,” he said, adding he thinks the company should bring the meeting back. “This is home. I think it ought to be here every year.”
During the question and answer session, one shareholder asked why Coke chose the Gwinnett venue rather than Atlanta proper. Kent replied, smiling: “I hope you would agree Gwinnett Center is a lot closer to the centre of Atlanta … than Delaware.”
In official business, a proposal to allow a nonbinding vote each year on executive pay failed, although it received 36% support.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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