Casella's director nominees re-elected in preliminary vote

Dive Brief:

Based on a preliminary vote, Casella’s three director nominees were re-elected to the Casella board of directors at the stockholders 2015 meeting. Final certified voting results should be publicly available later this week.
In addition to Chairman and CEO John W. Casella, the re-elected members are waste management veterans William P. Hulligan and James E. O’Connor. O’Connor also serves as the board's lead independent director.
These results come just after JCP Investment Management’s lengthy proxy contest, which JCP company representatives said was spurred by plummeting stock values and what they felt were bad business strategies. JCP withdrew its competing slate of directors last week when stockholders overwhelmingly showed support for the current board over JCP’s nominees.

Dive Insight:

After the preliminary vote, Casella released a statement including the following remarks:

"Despite JCP’s attempt to take credit for the significant progress we have made, the fact remains that our progress and momentum are testaments to the hard work and dedication shown by our entire team … It is evident from the voting results and the positive feedback we received from stockholders over the past few months that a clear majority of our stockholders fully comprehend our strategy and vision for Casella and do not want to disrupt our significant progress, and JCP’s 11th hour decision to concede the proxy contest shows us that JCP had received the same feedback … Going forward, we will strive to continue constructive, ongoing communications with all of our stockholders and will continue to remain very receptive to their views and opinions as we concentrate on executing our key strategic initiatives and driving operational and financial improvements …"

More detailed information on the annual meeting results will appear in the Current Report to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), available at no charge at the SEC’s website. Copies will also be available at no charge at the Investor Relations section of the corporate website.