Advisory firm Glass Lewis backs Toyota chairman re-election

[TOKYO] Advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended shareholders re-elect Toyota Motor chairman Akio Toyoda at this year’s annual general meeting in June.

Glass Lewis had recommended that shareholders vote against his re-election the past two years. Toyoda’s position at the automaker has come under scrutiny over governance concerns.

Toyoda, the grandson of the company’s founder and previously its chief executive, has seen shareholder support slip in recent years. He was re-elected to the board with backing from 72 per cent of the shareholders in 2024, down from 85 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively, in the prior two years.

In a July 2024 interview by the automaker’s own news outlet, Toyoda said that his seat on the board could be at risk if shareholder support continued to fall. He said then that the 2024 result marked the lowest support rating ever for a director in Toyota’s history.

In addition to Glass Lewis, proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has also recommended shareholders re-elect Toyoda this year, in contrast to last year when it recommended a vote against him. REUTERS