Burberry makes board changes, confirms re-elections

Luxury brand Burberry has announced the results of its most recent annual general meeting, in which all but one of its board members had been re-elected with a majority vote from shareholders.

Director Matthew Key did not stand for re-election, as the fashion house had previously communicated, and stepped down from the board following the conclusion of the meeting.

In his place, non-executive director Alan Stewart will be taking on the role of chair of the Audit Committee with immediate effect, while also being appointed as a member of the Remuneration Committee.

Meanwhile, non-executive director and chair of the Remuneration Committee Danuta Gray has now also been selected as a new member of the Audit Committee.

Notably, the re-election of Antoine de Saint-Affrique, the current CEO of French food corporation Danone, had been opposed by 26.07 percent of Burberry’s voting shareholders.

Last year, concern over De Saint-Affrique arose at the 2022 AGM, after which Burberry chair Gerry Murphy had written to opposing shareholders in order to understand their concerns more fully.

Following the review, the board said that the percentage of votes against De Saint-Affrique’s re-election had lowered from 33.84 percent, and reiterated that the executive was “committed” and made “an effective and valuable contribution” to the board.

Its statement continued: “The board continues to believe Antoine is able to devote sufficient time to discharge his duties as a non-executive director of Burberry, even in exceptionally demanding periods.”