EMC Corp, Hopkinton, Massachusetts has bravely knocked back the opportunity offered by Governor Michael Dukakis’ hysterical act that allows Massachusetts companies to arrange that only a third of the board has to be re-elected each year: the law, which suggests that the Boston Tea Party still rankles in Massachusetts, was brought in almost overnight, specifically to frustrate the bid for Norton Co from British BTR Plc so that it could be acquired by St Gobain SA of France, but EMC chairman Richard Egan comments In my opinion it appears that the state legislature is simply offering the same prerogatives to private industry that are presently enjoyed by the Commonwealth’s incumbent politicians, and says he views a board of directors with the staggered terms of office as counterproductive to efficient management practices and unresponsive to shareholders, saying the whole lot should be answerable every year and that it is not the responsibility of a state legislature to offer management in the private sector a shield to hide behind when it fails to meet shareholders’ expectations.
