Shareholders draw proposal to fire Mark Zuckerberg as Chairman

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg could lose his position as chairman of the firm.

According to Business Insider, a Facebook investor has drawn up a new proposal to oust Mark Zuckerberg as chairman, 10 months before the social networking giant's next shareholder meeting.

The proposal, which reflects the strong feeling among Facebook investors that governance changes are essential, was written by Trillium Asset Management, which manages around $11 million (£8.4 million) in Facebook stock.

It was filed just hours before a brutal Facebook second-quarter earnings update on Wednesday, which sent the firm's share price tumbling nearly 24 per cent, wiping as much as $148 billion off its value.

Trillium's proposal, if greenlit by investors including Facebook's own management, would require the company to appoint an independent chairman, breaking up Zuckerberg's dual role as CEO and chairman.

"A CEO who also serves as chair can exert excessive influence on the board and its agenda, weakening the board’s oversight of management," the proposal states.

"Separating the chair and CEO positions reduces this conflict, and an independent chair provides the clearest separation of power between the CEO and the rest of the board."

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune took a more than Sh1.5 trillion ($15 billion) hit on Thursday, as the social media company suffered the biggest one-day wipeout in U.S. stock market history a day after executives forecast years of lower profit margins.

At least 16 brokerages cut their price targets on Facebook after Chief Financial Officer David Wehner startled an otherwise routine call with analysts by saying the company faced a multi-year squeeze on its business margins.