Dallas, TX, May 27-- Home Depot Inc. on Thursday said preliminary voting results indicate that all 10 of its directors were reelected to its board.
The Atlanta-based retailer, which is holding its annual meeting in Dallas, did not give vote totals for each individual director.
The board includes Kenneth Langone, a Home Depot co-founder who came under fire for his role in the pay fiasco that led to Richard Grasso's ouster as head of the New York Stock Exchange. This week, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued Grasso and Langone under the state's not-for-profit laws.
The company also said a proposal seeking a shareholder vote on any poison pill, or defense measure designed to thwart a hostile takeover, was approved with about 66 percent in favor.
A proposal seeking shareholder approval for severance agreements with senior executives known as golden parachutes was approved by about 55 percent of votes cast.
Home Depot had opposed the poison pill and golden parachute proposals.
Home Depot Chairman Robert Nardelli reiterated that the retailer, which is investing heavily in store modernization and technology as rival Lowe's Cos. enters big U.S. markets, expects sales growth in the 10 percent to 12 percent range this year as per-share earnings rise 10 percent to 14 percent.
During the question-and-answer session, Nardelli was peppered with questions about executive compensation, corporate governance and lagging customer service in some of the retailer's stores.
"Home Depot takes corporate governance very seriously," Nardelli said in response to a question about the criteria for board members. "You can rest assured that we'll never put at jeopardy the reputation of this great brand."
