Wynn urges investors to vote for board as proxy battle rumbles

Friday 4th of May 2018

Wynn Resorts has urged shareholders to vote for its board slate at an upcoming general meeting, disagreeing with a leading proxy firm, which partially backed co-founder Elaine Wynn.

Wynn is objecting to the nomination of Jay Hagenbuch, who she says is a legacy director that will prevent the company from making a new start after being rocked by sexual misconduct allegations against founder and former CEO Steve Wynn in February.

"While we appreciate that Glass Lewis recognizes the sweeping initiatives the board has undertaken in less than three months, we are disappointed that they have failed to acknowledge the important contributions that Jay Hagenbuch has made in helping to drive positive change at Wynn,” it said in a statement.

"We strongly believe that withholding your vote for Jay Hagenbuch will not benefit your investment. In a complex and heavily regulated industry, Jay has the experience to effectively identify and manage Wynn's risk exposures and attendant vulnerabilities. As Chairman of the Audit Committee, he is intimately familiar with Wynn's operations, strengths and weaknesses, and its specialized regulatory framework.”

The proxy firm also acknowledged that Elaine Wynn’s campaign was problematic.

“Ms. Wynn's campaign suffers from certain key flaws, not the least of which relate to asking investors to partially front-run key regulatory developments, pre-suppose management's strategy around key assets and overlook her part in enabling the very corporate governance mechanisms that now limit the practicable avenues to effect meaningful change to the status quo,” it said.