Home Depot shareholders still seething

NEW YORK – Weeks after Home Depot Inc.’s annual meeting, which featured no questions, no vote counts and no outside directors in attendance, shareholders of the nation’s largest home improvement chain are still seething. Home Depot has apologized, but its tone-deaf approach to its critics may boomerang.

If you missed the May 25 annual meeting in Wilmington, Del., here’s what happened: The only director who attended was Bob Nardelli, the company’s chairman, president and CEO. Nardelli refused to acknowledge comments, answer questions or stick around longer than 30 minutes. The company allowed shareholders to speak about their proposals, but it put a strict time limit on their comments, which were tracked by a giant clock.

Shareholder activists had been planning to ask directors tough questions about Nardelli’s pay package, which totaled $123.7 million, excluding stock option grants, over the past five years. Nardelli was awarded the money while Home Depot’s stock sunk about 9 percent. In the same period, stock in its nearest rival, Lowe’s Companies Inc., increased 185 percent on a split-adjusted basis.

If Home Depot doesn’t mollify its shareholders, support for shareholder proposals could be even stronger next year. And the next meeting is certain to attract proposals nationwide.