Steve Jobs missed leading an Apple shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday for the first time since his return to the company in 1997, but the founder and visionary CEO remains “remains deeply involved in strategic decisions,” according to director Art Levinson, who spoke to reporters at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California after the meeting.
Despite his absence from the meeting, shareholders sang Happy Birthday to Jobs, who turned 54 yesterday. Reporters were barred from taking laptops, iPhones or other communication devices into the meeting, but a few attendees were apparently able to sneak in wireless handhelds to post notes during the meeting, according to a report at Fortune.
Details on shareholder actions at the meeting after the jump.
Shareholders re-elected Jobs and Apple’s seven outside directors — including former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Intuit Inc. Chairman Bill Campbell — to one-year terms at the meeting, where questions about Jobs’ health and the company’s succession plan were foremost on shareholders’ minds.
“If there’s new information that we deem is important to disclose, then that will happen,” Levinson said in reference to questions about Jobs’ health and the board’s disclosure responsibilities. “Apple has a succession plan and the board considers the issue regularly,” he said.
In response to investor complaints about board disclosures on Jobs’ health and his ability to fulfill is responsibilities as CEO, the Securities and Exchange Commission started an investigation to determine whether investors were misled, a person familiar with the matter said last month. The SEC’s review carries no implication of wrongdoing on its own.
General Counsel Daniel Cooperman declined to comment on the SEC investigation Wednesday.
In other news at the meeting, investors voted against shareholder proposals calling on the company to report its political contributions, adopt principles for health-care reform, prepare a report on sustainability and allow shareholders to vote on pay.
Via Bloomberg
