Rupert and Wendi Murdoch
Updated with official News Corp response below.
We don’t know what quite to make of this but CtW Investment Group, a union-affiliated shareholder lobbyist, is raising a stink about News Corp’s new independent director appointment, Accel Partners’ Jim Breyer.
CtW, which claims its affiliations represent pension funds of some 5.5 million Americans or some $200 billion in assets, says Breyer, a venture capitalist best known as an early investor in Facebook, isn’t as independent as the board claims.
In a 1,400-word letter addressed to Viet Dinh, chair of News Corp’s nominating & corporate governance committee, CtW lists a range of claims about Breyer’s relationships with News Corp, the Murdochs and his record as a director with major names like Wal-Mart and Dell.
A few highlights include:
- News Corp’s “close business relationships” with Accel Management Inc, of which Breyer is a partner
- An Accel investment in a MySpace subsidiary that employed Wendi Murdoch, wife of CEO Rupert Murdoch
