"When Intel first announced plans to move its annual shareholder meeting exclusively online, the company did not anticipate the shareholder backlash. ‘We thought it was going to be completely non-controversial. We just have local retirees come to the physical meeting,’ says Cary Klafter, Intel’s VP of legal and corporate affairs and corporate secretary. [...]

Timothy Smith, senior VP of Walden Asset Management’s environmental, social and governance group, believes virtual meetings create a ‘disembodied experience’ for the shareholder. If you are alone at home or in your office, ‘how do you know for sure if other investors are also concerned about x or y?’ Smith asks. [...]

A shareholder resolution filed with Intel, including signatories from Walden Asset Management and United for a Fair Economy (UFE), states, ‘We believe the tradition of in-person annual meetings plays an important role in holding management accountable to stockholders. In contrast, online-only annual meetings could allow companies to control which questions and concerns are heard and manipulate the exchanges between shareowners and the company. Face-to-face annual meetings allow for an unfiltered dialogue between shareholders and management.’ [...]"

Read the full article by Katie Feuer in Cross Border's IR Magazine.