A pension fund for New York City workers urged BlackRock shareholders to vote against the selection of Saudi Aramco’s chief executive as a director, citing a potential conflict of interest over decarbonisation strategy asset manager as well as human rights concerns.
Last year, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, named Amin Nasser, the head of the world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, as an independent director.
On Wednesday, New York City Administrator Brad Lander wrote in a statement on behalf of the New York City Employees Retirement System that BlackRock shareholders should vote against Mr. Nasser’s election at BlackRock’s annual meeting on May 15.
“We believe that a conflict of interest undermines Mr. Nasser’s ability to provide an independent perspective, both generally and specifically regarding BlackRock’s decarbonization strategy,” he wrote . BlackRock manages about $19 billion on behalf of the New York City Employees Retirement System, which has invested $43 million in the asset manager.
Aramco and BlackRock had no immediate comment.
BlackRock’s board of directors is relatively large: 16 people are currently up for election at the general meeting of shareholders to be held on May 15. The company has previously had questions about the size of its board, but it was easy to re-elect its management last year.
For this year, lead proxy advisors Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis both recommended voting for all BlackRock nominees, although they advised investors to vote “against” CEO Larry’s compensation Fink due to process and performance issues.
BlackRock has been criticized by US Republican politicians for its concerns about climate change, although it still invests in companies that use fossil fuels. When Mr. Nasser was appointed to the board of the company last year, it was thought that he could criticize the Republicans.
“Mr Nasser and BlackRock have different interests regarding the need for decarbonisation,” the New York pension fund said on Wednesday.
“Nasser has a vested interest in and is a strong advocate for fossil fuel expansion, which conflicts with BlackRock’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” the fund said.
In its statement on Wednesday, the New York City pension fund said that Mr. Nasser could not be considered truly independent of BlackRock with the 2022 pipeline deal involving the fund manager and the company, as well as bond issue from 2023 related here. construction
The filing also cites human rights concerns, saying oil giant Saudi Aramco is “engaged in one of the largest climate-related violations of international human rights,” which would threaten its reputation BlackRock and its shareholders.
He refers to a letter of concern sent by UN experts to Aramco last year, saying that the expansion of fossil fuel production and continued exploration threatened human rights.
“Given these factors, Mr. Nassers continued presence on the BlackRock board is a reputational risk to the culture of the company, as well as the board and shareholders,” he said in the document.
2024-05-01 17:32:51
#York #City #pension #fund #opposes #Aramco #CEOs #election #BlackRock #director
