According to Corporate Secretary's report on a virtual meeting discussion at the Shareholder Services Association's recent annual conference, Broadridge estimates that 225 virtual annual meetings will be conducted this proxy season, compared to 187 in 2016 and 134 in 2015. If this year generally reflects last year's stats, more than 80% or 180 of this year's virtual meetings will be virtual-only, with the balance being conducted via a hybrid (in-person and virtual) format.
Hertz AGC & Assistant Secretary and Society member William Langston informed conference attendees that the company's virtual-only meeting this year attracted 12 shareholder attendees, representing a significant increase over the two or three attendees at its in-person meetings in prior years.
He also reportedly noted that "the company had received no pushback from shareholders, who were allowed to submit questions via email ahead of the meeting and none of whom raised the format of the meeting as a concern. The only difficulty had been in overcoming internal reluctance, and that in practice it was very similar to running an earnings call, with no technical challenges, he said. Board members were able to tune in from all around the country to the meeting being hosted in a room in New York."