The Observer: Shell chiefs face vote of confidence: US shareholder activist wants to punish directors
Oliver Morgan, industrial correspondent
Sunday June 20, 2004
Shareholders in Royal Dutch are being urged to vote against Chairman Jeroen Van der Veer and eight other directors at the oil giant’s annual general meeting a week tomorrow.
Influential US-based shareholder activist Institutional Investor Services is recommending voting against two key motions to ‘discharge directors of their responsibilities’ for the last year, at the Royal Dutch AGM in the Hague, which is being held concurrently with that of Shell, the London-based arm.
Such motions – which, in effect, call for shareholders to confirm their confidence in the company’s management – are required by Dutch law. Voting against the motions would be a serious blow to the directors’ public credibility and could lead to mass resignations.
The move follows four oil reserve downgrades totalling 4.47 billion barrels since January, which have plunged Royal Dutch/Shell into crisis.
The recommendation is strongly worded. ‘ISS policy dictates that poor performance that can be directly linked to flagrant error or neglect on the part of the board or management … may constitute grounds for voting against discharge. In the case of Royal Dutch, the actions (or inactions) of the management board appear to have contributed to the decline in profit for 2003 while harming the image of the company, thus damaging shareholder value.’
ISS also advises shareholders to vote against the motions because if they were to discharge the directors, ‘they will face a greater challenge if they subsequently decide to pursue legal action against these parties’.
ISS recommendations are used by 750 pension funds and institutional investors and are among the most influential in the world.
The recommendations are directed against the seven members of the Royal Dutch supervisory board, headed by Aad Jacobs, and the two members of its management board. The latter two, Van der Veer and Rob Routs, are also on the three-strong Committee of Managing Directors, the executive team that runs both the Netherlands-based Royal Dutch and London-based Shell arms of the business.
Shareholders are mindful of the gravity of such an action, but are giving it serious consideration.
Eric Knight of Knight Vinke Asset Management, who has been openly critical of the company, said: ‘This is a very serious step to take. We have not made up our minds yet as to what to do, and we will be consulting with other shareholders this week.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1242807,00.html
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Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
