Governance and directors' liability
General context
With the advent of new technologies, many issuers are
considering using electronic means to reach a greater number of
their shareholders. Integrating technology to annual general
meetings of shareholders (AGMs) is certainly an illustration of
this. A virtual annual general meeting of shareholders
(virtual-only AGM) is a meeting that takes place exclusively using
online technology, without a corresponding in-person meeting. It
must be distinguished from a traditional AGM, which is held in
person, but also from a hybrid AGM, which is held in person with a
simultaneous online broadcast.
There has been a growing number of virtual-only AGMs in the
United States. According to Broadridge Financial Solutions, the
main provider of virtual meeting platforms, the practice has grown
more than 700% since 2010, with nearly 200 virtual meetings held in
2016. For instance, companies such as Ford, Sprint, Intel
