Seven & i shareholders approve Dacus-led new board
Seven & i Holdings Co. shareholders on Tuesday approved a new board of directors led by President and CEO Stephen Hayes Dacus and Chairman Junro Ito, a member of the Japanese retailer's founding family.
The company has been in talks with Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard on its proposal to acquire Seven & i, while exploring ways to boost its corporate value on its own.
The Dacus-led team has challenges of crafting and executing a growth strategy centred on Seven & i's convenience store business in Japan and the United States.
Dacus told shareholders in a meeting in Tokyo that Seven & i will grow faster in the coming decade. He succeeded Ryuichi Isaka, who led the company for nine years.
Seven & i now has four new outside directors, including Takashi Sawada, former president of Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart Co.
The shareholders' meeting lasted for 114 minutes, four minutes longer than the previous year's meeting, and was attended by 887 shareholders, up by 549.
No proposal was made by shareholders in advance for the second consecutive year.
US proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. had recommended that shareholders vote in favour of proposals from Seven & i, including a slate of board nominees that includes Dacus.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
