Projo Biz Blog

Retirees of Verizon Communications have launched a campaign to pursuade the telephone company's board of directors to separate the offices of chairman and chief executive officer.

The Association of BellTel Retirees Inc. wants directors to adopt a policy requiring that future board chairmen be selected only from the independent directors who have not served as an executive officer of the company, the group said in a statement.

C. William Jones, president and executive director of the retirees' association, will present the proposal at Verizon's annual meeting May 1 in Lincoln, Neb. The item will be listed on the 2008 Verizon shareowners proxy ballot.

Jones said that separating the roles of chairman and CEO is fundamental to sound corporate governance.

"How can the CEO be his own boss?," he said. "Directors are responsible for protecting the shareholders' interests, which includes monitoring and evaluating the CEO's performance. When the CEO is also the chairman of the board, there is an ambiguity about who is working for whom. There is a built in barrier to replacing a poorly performing CEO."

The association is based in Cold Spring Harbor, New York.

---