2 576 shareholders attended the Nestlé S.A. Annual General Meeting today in Lausanne. They represented 32.25 percent of the total capital and 50.78 percent of the shares entitled to vote. The annual report and the accounts were approved and the shareholders agreed to the release of the Board of Directors and the Management. For the first time at an Annual General Meeting the Nestlé Compensation Report was submitted for acceptance in a separate advisory vote, in line with the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance. The shareholders further approved the proposed dividend increase to CHF 1.40 per share, an increase of 14.8 percent over last year, and agreed to the capital reduction. All proposals of the Board of Directors were voted with strong majorities.
It was with sadness and regret that Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe informed shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of the untimely death of Lord George, Member of the Board of Directors, on 18 April 2009. Lord George was first elected to the Nestlé Board of Directors in 2004 and he was due to retire at the end of his present term in 2011. His expertise, judgement and wisdom were respected throughout the academic, economic and political world and immensely valued by Nestlé.
Shareholders re-elected Carolina Müller-Möhl and Daniel Borel as members of the Board of Directors for a three-year term. Due to the age limit set forth in the Board Regulations, Professor Günter Blobel did not stand for re-election. Kaspar Villiger did not stand for re-election, following his nomination to the position of Chairman of UBS. The Board extends its gratitude to Mr Villiger and Professor Blobel for their highly appreciated services as members of the Board and its committees.
At the meeting, Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said: “In this period of economic and social turbulence, a strong, long-term orientation, clear strategies and disciplined implementation based on solid values are more important than ever. It is our firm conviction that in order to create sustainable value for our company, we must create value for society as a whole. Indeed, next Monday, we will be presenting our concept of Creating Shared Value at a high-level forum in New York.” Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke added: “We believe that our strategy places us in a good position, and is all the more appropriate in difficult times. Not only does it give us excellent defensive characteristics, it also creates a platform for profitable growth that has proven itself to be one of the most vigorous in the industry. This will continue to guide and inspire our success through the present economic downturn.”
For the year to come, the Board and its different Committees will be composed as follows:
Board of Directors
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Paul Bulcke, Andreas Koopmann, Rolf Hänggi, Daniel Borel, Jean-Pierre Meyers, André Kudelski, Carolina Müller-Möhl, Jean-René Fourtou, Steven G. Hoch, Naina Lal Kidwai, Beat Hess
Chairman's and Corporate Governance Committee
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Paul Bulcke, Andreas Koopmann, Rolf Hänggi, Jean-René Fourtou
Compensation Committee
Daniel Borel, Andreas Koopmann, Jean-Pierre Meyers, Jean-René Fourtou
Nomination Committee
Andreas Koopmann, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Carolina Müller-Möhl, Steven G. Hoch
Audit Committee
Rolf Hänggi, André Kudelski, Naina Lal Kidwai, Beat Hess
The Chairman's and the CEO’s addresses to the AGM can be found in Corporate Governance - Annual General Meeting.
Contacts:Media: Robin Tickle Tel.: +41 (0)21 924 22 00
Investors: Roddy Child-Villiers Tel.: +41 (0)21 924 36 22