At its first meeting after the 2002 annual general meeting of shareholders, the ABB Board of Directors elected the chairmen and members of the two board committees. The Nomination and Compensation committee is headed by the board’s chairman Jürgen Dormann; members are Martin Ebner and Hans Ulrich Maerki. The Finance and Audit committee is headed by Bernd Voss, and Roger Agnelli and Jacob Wallenberg are committee members.
The role of the Board of Directors in ABB is, among other matters, to supervise the persons entrusted with the management of the company.
This role was highlighted in February 2002, when the board demanded restitution from former CEOs Percy Barnevik and Göran Lindahl of parts of their pensions and other benefits – paid to them in excess of obligations. The board cited procedural shortcomings and failures to secure proper board approvals. Agreements were reached in time for the annual general meeting on March 12, and substantial sums will be returned to the company by the former CEOs.
In connection with these events, ABB has taken steps to increase transparency on executive compensation. For the first time, ABB reported in its Annual Report the 2001 compensation for both the Group Executive Committee and the board, as well as the base salary and bonus of the president and CEO.