Proxy advisory firms push for more changes in corporate boardrooms

Typically on boards of India Inc, non-independent director tend to hold on longer but serve on fewer boards than their independent counterparts

With a few US-based investors voting against the reappointment of Deepak Parekh on the board of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) on the advice of proxy advisory firms in the US, the spotlight is once again on corporate boardrooms.

One US proxy advisory firm asked shareholders to vote against anyone who is on boards of more than five public limited companies as it would be a constraint for that executive.

“Investors may be concerned whether directors are able to fulfil their fiduciary responsibilities when they are serving on a large number of boards, as in this case,” noted a report