REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Speaking to
shareholders at Microsoft Corp.'s annual meeting on Wednesday,
Chief Executive Officer Satya
Nadella highlighted how digital technology is transforming
people and organizations across the world, and the opportunity for
Microsoft.
"Digital technology is impacting and transforming every human
endeavor in every industry," Nadella said. "Microsoft empowers our
customers who want to harness new technology, like artificial
intelligence, to transform their organizations and find solutions
to the biggest challenges in healthcare, agriculture, finance,
government — every sector."
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Amy Hood reported that Microsoft
executed well in fiscal year 2016 and reported a strong start to
the current fiscal year. Hood noted that Microsoft's innovation
road map and disciplined investment expand addressable market
opportunities and position the company for growth — an investment
in the future that will deliver value for shareholders.
The following proposals were acted on by the company's
shareholders at the meeting:
- Re-elected all 11 directors to serve until the next annual
meeting of shareholders. All director nominees received a vote of
98 percent of votes cast.
- Approved, on a nonbinding advisory basis, the fiscal year 2016
compensation of the company's named executive officers. The
advisory measure received 95 percent of votes cast.
- Ratified the selection of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the
company's independent auditor for fiscal year 2017, with a vote of
98 percent of votes cast.
- Approved an amendment to Microsoft's Amended and Restated
Articles of Incorporation, with a vote of 99 percent of votes
cast.
- Approved a French Sub Plan under the 2001 Stock Plan, with a
vote of 96 percent of votes cast.
- Rejected a shareholder proposal to make amendments to the
current Proxy Access for Director Nominations bylaw; the proposal
received approximately 26 percent of votes cast.
Microsoft's board of directors consists of John W. Thompson, Microsoft independent
chairman; William H. Gates,
Microsoft founder and technology advisor; Teri List-Stoll, former executive vice president
and chief financial officer of DICK'S Sporting Goods Inc.;
G. Mason Morfit, president, ValueAct
Capital; Satya Nadella, chief
executive officer, Microsoft; Charles H.
Noski, former vice chairman of Bank of America Corp.; Dr.
Helmut Panke, former chairman of the
board of management, BMW AG; Sandra E.
Peterson, group worldwide chairman, Johnson & Johnson;
Charles W. Scharf, chief executive
officer, Visa Inc.; John W. Stanton,
chairman, Trilogy Equity Partners; and Padmasree Warrior, chief development officer and
U.S. chief executive officer, NextEV. Nine of the 11 board members
are independent of Microsoft, which is consistent with the
requirement in the company's governance guidelines that a
substantial majority be independent.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and
its mission is to empower every person and every organization on
the planet to achieve more.
Note to editors: For more information, news and
perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center
at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and
titles were correct at the time of publication, but may have
changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may
contact Microsoft's Media Relations Team or other appropriate
contacts listed at
http://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.