Dive Brief:
- A board member of Werner Enterprises resigned immediately last month, citing “ongoing material disagreements” with the carrier’s board, the company reported in a securities filing dated Friday.
- Vikram Mansharamani, founder and president of Kelan Advisors, expressed interest in reelection to the board, then resigned after learning three days later that the nominating committee did not plan to put him forward, according to the filing.
- The disagreements, according to Mansharamani’s resignation letter, regarded “repeated related party transactions, the unquestioned dedication to ESG considerations as a primary strategy, and the refusal to adequately consider different perspectives.”
Dive Insight:
In a newsletter the day after submitting his resignation, Mansharamani noted that the debate over businesses’ social responsibility is structured as an either-or choice between profits or purpose — a framing he deems “counter-productive.”
“Perhaps the actual problem is one of short-termism?” he mused.
In the long run, he noted, a business that fails to treat its employees well will not have employees, or a business. Companies that pollute will hurt the very environment in which executives raise their families. Most executives desire positive relationships with the communities in which they run their businesses, he noted.
“It’s only in the short-run that some of these matters become tradeoffs,” Mansharamani wrote. “This leads me to conclude that a long-term orientation is the ultimate best path forward.”
In its filing, Werner noted that it believes Mansharamani’s disagreements “relate to the discussions described above and to differing philosophical principles on how the Company and its Board of Directors should address social responsibility and related corporate governance.”
The board discussed the matters with Mansharamani before his resignation at board and committee meetings where he was present, the company said in the filing.
“While the Company disagrees with Dr. Mansharamani’s statements, it carefully considers its policies and related practices and takes his report of ongoing material disagreements with the Board of Directors seriously,” Werner said. “The Company is proud of its commitment to stewardship, community engagement, and effective corporate governance.”
