An Apple shareholder proposal designed to force the company to disclose its succession plan for CEO Steve Jobs has gained the support of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a proxy-advising service. Bloomberg reports that the ISS wants Apple to disclose a CEO succession plan every year, and that the move is backed by the Laborers’ International Union of North America.
“A vote for the shareholder proposal to adopt a succession planning policy is warranted in light of the company’s limited disclosure regarding this issue and the market’s expression of concern over CEO succession at Apple,” ISS said in a report. Apple, through its proxy statement (PDF Link), has asked shareholders to vote against the proposal, claiming that public disclosure of the company’s succession planning — which is required of the board and CEO annually, and included naming candidates for succession — could give competitors an unfair advantage, and give them the opportunity to poach current or future executives.
The proposal will be considered at Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, February 23 in building 4 on Apple’s Cupertino campus.
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