LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - One of the UK's largest pension schemes has filed a shareholder resolution calling for U.S. chipmaker Texas Instruments to appoint an independent chairman or lead director on its board.
Railpen Investments, the fund manager of UK's Railways Pension Scheme with assets of $21 billion, said on Friday it had been urging the chipmaker to establish a lead independent director, a call the company has so far resisted.
Railpen holds a less than 1 percent of Texas Instruments.
'Only an independent chair or a lead independent director with clear authority can provide shareowners with assurance that the board has appropriate input on board meeting agendas and conduct, as well as on company strategy,' said Frank Curtis, head of corporate governance at Railpen.
'Unfortunately, Texas Instruments has established neither position. Our proxy proposal is intended to encourage the company to address this issue appropriately.'
The resolution will be considered at the company's annual general meeting on April 16.
Several Texas Instruments directors take responsibility for aspects of the lead independent director role, said Railpen, which holds a minority stake in the company.
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(Reporting by Raji Menon; Editing by Erica Billingham) Keywords: TXN SHAREHOLDERS/ (raji.menon@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 20 7542 3551; raji.menon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Railpen Investments, the fund manager of UK's Railways Pension Scheme with assets of $21 billion, said on Friday it had been urging the chipmaker to establish a lead independent director, a call the company has so far resisted.
Railpen holds a less than 1 percent of Texas Instruments.
'Only an independent chair or a lead independent director with clear authority can provide shareowners with assurance that the board has appropriate input on board meeting agendas and conduct, as well as on company strategy,' said Frank Curtis, head of corporate governance at Railpen.
'Unfortunately, Texas Instruments has established neither position. Our proxy proposal is intended to encourage the company to address this issue appropriately.'
The resolution will be considered at the company's annual general meeting on April 16.
Several Texas Instruments directors take responsibility for aspects of the lead independent director role, said Railpen, which holds a minority stake in the company.
For the Hedge Hub blog: http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub
For Global Investing: http://blogs.reuters.com/globalinvesting
(Reporting by Raji Menon; Editing by Erica Billingham) Keywords: TXN SHAREHOLDERS/ (raji.menon@thomsonreuters.com; +44 (0) 20 7542 3551; raji.menon.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
