The California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers), the largest US public pension fund, voted to split the roles of chairman and chief executive officer currently held by Lloyd Blankfein at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Calpers voted for a shareholder proposal that would require the company to separate the positions the next time it names a CEO, the fund announced yesterday on its website. Goldman’s board unanimously opposed dividing the roles, arguing that the current structure provides clarity and efficiency. Calpers said it voted 1.81 million Goldman shares.
Blankfein, who has led the company for almost four years, will face shareholders at the annual meeting today in New York, three weeks after the firm was sued for fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldman contests the claims and said it will cooperate with investigators.
“Calpers believes if the chair is not the CEO, the board may be able to exercise stronger oversight of management,” the pension fund said on its website.
Calpers withheld support for Goldman director Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of the world’s biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal, for sitting on too many corporate boards. Mittal has been a director since June 2008, according to Goldman.
Andrea Rachman, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman, didn’t immediately return a call for comment after regular business hours. A call to Brad Pacheco, spokesman for the pension fund, wasn’t returned.
Calpers, which oversees $207.4 billion, has tried to use its size to force corporate governance changes at companies in which it has stakes.