Major Facebook Investors Push for Mark Zuckerberg to Step Down as Chairman

Several major public investment funds are pushing for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to step down as the company’s chairman of the board.

The New York City comptroller, along with the state treasurers of Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Illinois, joined a proposal by Trillium Asset Management on Wednesday that called for Zuckerberg to resign as chairman, following several controversies that have rocked Facebook in the last year. The proposal, previously filed in June, came after Facebook revealed up to 87 million users were impacted by the Cambridge Analytica data leak. The latest endorsers join the proposal a week after Facebook said another 30 million users were hit by a data breach.

“We need Facebook’s insular boardroom to make a serious commitment to addressing real risks – reputational, regulatory, and the risk to our democracy – that impact the company, its shareowners, and ultimately the hard-earned pensions of thousands of New York City workers,” New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a statement. “An independent board chair is essential to moving Facebook forward from this mess, and to reestablish trust with Americans and investors alike.”

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The proposal is likely made in vain, however, considering Zuckerberg’s outsized influence on the company. Zuckerberg, while holding a majority of supervoting shares, controls 59.9 percent of the company’s voting power. So unless Zuckerberg sides with the proposal, don’t expect this largely ceremonial move to curtail his stature at Facebook.