As most proxy season observers know, one of the oldest tricks in the book for defusing angry shareholders is to hold the annual stockholders’ meeting in some far-flung location, as noted in this recent Wall Street Journal article.  I’ve blogged about this topic once in a blue moon (or left comments on other blogs).

With the growing importance of annual shareholder meetings–due to the majority-vote movement and the potential elimination of broker non-votes in director elections–I believe it’s simply too risky from an investor relations perspective for any company to hold their meeting at an inconvenient location.  It’s only a matter of time before some bright journalist starts an annual “Top Ten Inconvenient Locations” list.  Trust me: no company wants to experience the heat that Home Depot did for its various annual meeting snafus last year…