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U.S. Plans Key Role In Naming GM Board
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"The board has recognized for some time that the company's restructuring will likely cause a significant change in the stockholders of the company" chairman Kresa said in a statement. This would "create the need for new directors with additional skills and experience."
Another key stakeholder in the company, of course, would be the government, which has lent the company money but does not own any shares. And many analysts believe that whoever the shareholders may be, the government's interest will matter most.
"Obviously, the government has a voice as an investor," said Charles Elson, head of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware. "But it's not like the government speaks as one voice among many. It becomes the overwhelming voice."
The government, bondholders and the union will all be competing for influence, said Ronald J. Gilson, a law professor at Stanford and Columbia, who is a corporate governance expert.
"It's going to be a very fractious place," Gilson said. "There will be large shareholders who have specific interests."
Board members currently come up for review every five years and generally are allowed to serve until age 72. The company's shareholders would likely have to approve any board nominees. GM is scheduled to hold a shareholder meeting in August.
Noting that he will report to the Treasury and to the company's board, Henderson said yesterday: "We have two boards of directors."
Staff writer Perry Bacon Jr. contributed to this report.
