Best AGM Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is no newcomer to the online AGM, having used a virtual format since 2015. But as legal project manager Linda Epstein explains, the company doesn’t rest on its laurels and each year finds new ways to improve the experience for shareholders – and employees – to make the event feel as close as possible to being in person.
A major reason for success in reaching that goal is preparation, and one of our judges said she appreciated the degree of internal collaboration at HPE. The pre-AGM process begins eight months before the big day and entails HPE’s governance team working alongside five internal and six external teams, with input from the board and C-suite. During the planning stage, the AGM and surrounding governance is designed, taking into account shareholder feedback, the company’s strategy and advice from outside experts, among other things.
For the 2022 meeting, HPE’s governance team created a single microsite that operated as a central access point for shareholders, with all necessary links and materials, proposals with management’s voting recommendations, information on how to vote, how to submit questions before and during the AGM, and so on.
Before the meeting even began, HPE presented a 30-minute video designed as an entertaining platform to inform shareholders about the impact of the company’s technology, including its involvement in the NASA space program.
The meeting itself was broadcast in studio-quality format and made available for all employees, who had the option of using watch parties. Beyond that, HPE employees could also take part via virtual reality – a technology the governance team has been adopting for its own work efforts over the past few years.
HPE is keen for shareholders and other stakeholders to feel part of the AGM, which includes a more than 20-minute Q&A, covering inquiries both filed ahead of time and during the meeting. The answers to all questions, including those that could not be addressed during the meeting, are posted later on the microsite.
Adding to the practical challenges, the 2022 AGM took place at the same time as the grand opening of HPE’s new headquarters just outside Houston. But despite the additional media presence and need for a broadcast truck, the event went off without a hitch.
