WPP Shareholder revolution Fizzles

It had appeared that the big WPP shareholder revolt predicted by some heading into recently held annual meeting didn’t have much voltage.

There were cries for the ouster of Roberto Quarta in the weeks leading up to the meeting, which largely fell on deaf ears when the voting began.

The international publications reported live during the meeting. It indicated that Quarta received strong support — over 83% of all votes including abstentions.

The international report said, during the meeting, Quarta told the shareholders that data protection and privacy laws proscribed the firm from divulging details.

One of the international reports quoted that Quarta at the meeting said that the company had no choice but to honour the exit deal given that legally speaking, the ex-boss was not ‘grossly negligent’, and therefore entitled to the payments.

There were reports in the days leading up to the meeting that the board investigation that led to Sorrell’s departure in April was sparked by allegations that he visited a prostitute in London last June, but the probe apparently found no evidence that the rendezvous was subsidized with company funds.

On the coming days there were reports that informed about the meeting that the board investigation that led to Sorrell’s departure in April was sparked by allegations that he visited a prostitute in London last June. The investigator apparently did not find any evidence that the rendezvous was subsidized with company funds.

One of the international source also reportedly criticized that Sorrell was extremely abusive (in a verbal sense) to numerous employees, but the mercurial behaviour also did not constitute gross negligence.

The reports also mentioned that Quarta reiterated Co-Chief Operating Officer Mark Read’s announcement via memo Tuesday that the holding company and its operating units would review code of conduct and related policies in the wake of disclosures about Sorrell’s abusive behaviour.