Swiss Re shareholders urged to oppose chairman’s re-election in gender row -FT

ZURICH (Reuters) – Swiss Re shareholders have been urged to vote in opposition to the re-election of Chairman Sergio Ermotti on the reinsurance firm’s upcoming annual common assembly, The Monetary Instances reported on Wednesday.

Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Providers (ISS) has really useful shareholders oppose the reappointment of Ermotti, as a “sign of concern” over the shortage of gender range on the reinsurer’s board, the paper stated.

Ermotti joined Swiss Re in October 2020 after a nine-year spell as Chief Govt at Switzerland’s greatest financial institution UBS. He grew to become chairman in 2021.

In line with the FT, ISS criticised Swiss Re in its report forward of the vote, as a result of happen on April 13, for failing to reside as much as its commitments to range and for falling wanting an business benchmark of getting ladies account for a minimum of 30% of boards.

Three ladies are standing for election to the 12-strong Swiss Re board, in keeping with an invite to the AGM seen by Reuters, which might give a 25% illustration.

ISS is endorsing the remainder of the board appointments and says the vote in opposition to Ermotti is warranted “as a result of the board is insufficiently gender various,” the FT reported.

ISS didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Proxy advisers resembling ISS have affect with passive traders and enormous establishments, who typically comply with their suggestions.

Swiss Re stated it thought-about gender range to be of the “utmost significance” within the composition its board, and was dedicated to reaching the 30% purpose by 2023’s AGM.

“At Swiss Re, we embrace and construct range, fairness and inclusion, bringing collectively the most effective of a number of generations, cultures, skillsets and considering,” the corporate stated in an announcement to Reuters.

“We strongly imagine that Mr Ermotti’s measured method to succession planning and assuring gender range is in the most effective pursuits of shareholders and Swiss Re.”

(Reporting by Paul Arnold and John Revill; Enhancing by Kirsten Donovan)