The balance of power between large corporations and large shareholders is shifting to the shareholders, said Sarah Teslik, executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors.
Speaking today at a conference of the International Corporate Governance Network held in San Francisco, she said some shareholder rights issues, such as the elimination of poison pills, are consistently getting more than 50% of shareholder proxy votes. That is new and surprising, she said, but while the balance of power is shifting, shareholder power is still ``phenomenally small.''