Siemens 2007 Annual Report Download - page 84

84 Corporate Governance Report
Stock ownership by members of the Managing and Supervisory Boards
As of October 12, 2007, the Managing Board members serving on the board during
the fi scal year held a total of 468,410 (2006: 1,338,539) Siemens shares as well as
stock options and stock awards on Siemens shares, representing 0.051 (2006: 0.150)
percent of the capital stock of Siemens AG. As of the same day, members of the
Supervisory Board serving on the board during the fi scal year held a total of 89,580
(2006: 177,019) Siemens shares as well as stock options and stock awards on Siemens
shares (exercisable within sixty days), representing 0.01 (2006: 0.020) percent of
the capital stock of Siemens AG. These fi gures do not include 9,904,856 (2006:
10,607,390) shares, or 1.08 (2006: 1.2) percent of the capital stock, that are held by
the von Siemens-Vermögensverwaltung GmbH (vSV) – a German limited liability
entity that functions much like a trust – and 24,673,050 (2006: 39,144,979) shares,
or some 2.7 (2006: 4.4) percent of the capital stock, over which the vSV has voting
control under a power of attorney. Mr. Peter von Siemens is authorized to vote these
shares as a representative of the founder’s family.
Shareholder relations
Four times each year, Siemens AG reports to its shareholders regarding its business
development, fi nancial position and earnings. An ordinary Annual Shareholders’
Meeting normally takes place within the fi rst four months of each fi scal year. The
Managing Board facilitates shareholder participation in the meeting through elec-
tronic communications – in particular the Internet – and enables shareholders who
are unable to attend the meeting to vote by proxy.
Among other things, the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting decides on the appropriation
of net income, ratifi cation of the acts of the Managing and Supervisory Boards, and
the appointment of the independent auditors. Amendments to the Articles of Asso-
ciation and measures which change the Company’s capital stock are approved exclu-
sively at the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting and are implemented by the Managing
Board. Shareholders may submit counter-proposals to the proposals of the Managing
and Supervisory Boards and may contest decisions of the Annual Shareholders’ Meet-
ing. Shareholders owning Siemens stock with an aggregate notional value of
€100,000 or more may also demand the appointment of special auditors to examine
specifi c occurrences.
As part of our investor relations activities, the CEO, the CFO and individual members
of the Groups’ executive managements meet regularly with analysts and institutional
investors. We hold a conference for analysts at least once a year, as well as telephone
conferences with analysts upon the publication of our quarterly results.
Corporate governance guidelines
Our Articles of Association, the Bylaws for the Supervisory Board and those of its
most important committees, the Bylaws for the Managing Board, all declarations of
conformity, the report on our fulfi llment of the requirements of the Code, and vari-
ous other documents pertaining to our corporate governance may be found on our
Internet website at www.siemens.com/corporate_governance.