Majority shareholders of Zee Entertainment have indicated that they want a change in the leadership by voting against appointing Punit Goenka as the Director of the company.

“By voting against the reappointment of Punit Goenka, shareholders would be signalling that they are seeking a leadership change. While Punit Goenka may be showing skin in the game by giving up the Managing Director position and continuing to be CEO, this is not a desirable outcome for shareholders. The Board of Directors, as trustees of shareholders, needed to change the leadership of the company,” said Shriram Subramanian, Founder and Managing Director of inGovern.

On Thursday, the Board of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) announced the rejection of Goenka’s reappointment as a Director. The reappointment was supported by only 49.54 per cent. Proxy firms told businessline that while this course of events was hardly surprising, the more pressing question now was whether Goenka should continue his role as the CEO.

Should he continue

“The investors have spoken their mind on the whole. The question the independent director and Board needs to ask now is whether Goenka should continue as the CEO. They should take this rejection into account,” said the official.

On November 18, Goenka had approached the Board to relinquish his role as the managing director and focus on his operational responsibilities as the CEO. Goenka has historically not received considerable support from proxy firms.

Previously, the inGovern proxy firm had written a note to the shareholders raising concerns about Goenka’s leadership skills, flagging SEBI’s interim order against Goenka, the failed merger with Sony, declining profits and affected stock price. The firm had also talked about the lack of transparency on the total remuneration that can be given to him by the company.

Following the decision by the Board, Zee’s share price went up by nearly 6 per cent at ₹129 on November 29.

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