Home Depot Director Wins Despite Criticism

Shareholders of Home Depot Inc. reelected lead director Kenneth Langone amid criticism that the investment banker who helped found the retailer wasn’t independent.

At least 80% of votes were cast in favor of Langone, whose firm has done work for Home Depot, as well as 11 other directors. Institutional Shareholder Services, an advisory service, had urged investors to oppose the election, and several small investors questioned his election at Home Depot’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Chief Executive Robert Nardelli, recruited to Home Depot by Langone from General Electric Co., where Langone also serves as a director, defended the board, saying that it included just one company manager and that directors regularly visited stores.

From Bloomberg News