Ryanair investor calls for new chair at budget airline following strikes
Ryanair shareholder the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum’s (LAPFF) today called for the replacement of the budget airline’s chair David Bonderman and for a succession plan for its boss Michael O’Leary.
LAPFF, which owns approximately one per cent of Ryanair’s shares, said it plans to file resolutions at Ryanair’s annual meeting (AGM) next year to replace Bonderman who has been in the post for 22 years.
The UK’s corporate governance code says that a chair should serve for no longer than nine years.
It also called for the company to layout a succession plan for longstanding chief executive Michael O’Leary in the next two to three years.
LAPFF chair, councillor Ian Greenwood, wrote to the chair of Ryanair’s nomination committee Michael Cawley on 12 October informing him of the plans.
LAPFF said that Bonderman “presides over a board that is not sufficiently independent” and said he has been “unsuccessful in his oversight of employment issues at the company and ensuring customers receive adequate service during flight cancellations in summer 2018”.
It said that more independent representation on the board could have helped smooth changes to working conditions and helped avoid a series of strikes that have led to mass cancellations.
It argued that high levels of abstentions and votes against Bonderman’s re-appointment at the airline’s last AGM shows other shareholders share the same concerns.
LAPFF, which requires the backing of three per cent of shareholders to file a resolution, said it will work with other shareholders to gain support for the resolutions.
A Ryanair spokesperson said: “Ryanair shareholders recently passed all AGM resolutions by a large majority, including the nomination of directors and chairman. They appreciate how fortunate we are to have an outstanding chairman like David Bonderman guide the board and the airline.”
Greenwood wrote in his letter: “We consider that more genuinely independent representation on the board could have ensured that these changes were achieved more smoothly. The recent votes on the re-election of both directors illustrated the view that there should be change in key board positions and that the company’s ongoing transition must be accompanied by serious corporate governance reform.”