Norway’s $2.3 trillion wealth fund objects to John Elkann’s reappointment to Meta’s board

Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has withheld its vote on the reappointment of John Elkann to Meta’s board of directors. The fund said it believes the Stellantis chairman and Exor CEO does not have enough time to devote to the role.

Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages the $2.3 trillion fund, published its voting intentions ahead of Meta’s annual general meeting on 27 May. Elkann attended at least 70 per cent of Meta board meetings in 2025, with his absences attributed to “unavoidable conflicts.” All other board members attended at least 75 per cent, with the exception of UFC CEO Dana White, whose attendance matched Elkann’s.

“Board members should devote sufficient time to fulfil their responsibilities effectively,” NBIM said. “Board members should contribute to effective discussions and decision-making by attending all meetings.”

The objection is notable because the Norwegian fund rarely breaks with management. In 2025, it followed board recommendations in 94 per cent of all resolutions. This year, it backed five of ten shareholder proposals at Meta, an unusually high number that signals growing unease with the company’s governance.

One of those proposals calls for Meta to produce a data protection impact assessment on its collection of user interactions with generative AI chatbots for personalised advertising and content. That is a pointed demand. Meta has guided 2026 capital expenditure of $115 to $135 billion, nearly double last year, with much of it directed at AI infrastructure. Shareholders still have no board-level assessment of how the data feeding those products is sourced or governed.

The fund also voted in favour of proposals requiring that all shareholders have the right to vote on fundamental corporate decisions, a report addressing antisemitism and hate on Meta’s platforms, and an assessment of the company’s human rights due diligence processes. A separate proposal requested a report on how Meta plans to meet its climate commitments given the surging energy demand from AI data centres.

The governance questions arrive at a difficult moment for Meta. The company cut 8,000 jobs beginning 20 May despite reporting record quarterly revenue of $56.3 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees the layoffs were about capital expenditure, not AI productivity, but the company’s CFO acknowledged that Meta does not know its optimal long-term headcount.

Meta’s dual-class share structure gives Zuckerberg majority voting control, which means shareholder proposals are advisory rather than binding. The Norwegian fund holds 1.2 per cent of Meta’s shares but only 0.5 per cent of votes. That gap is precisely what the voting-rights proposal seeks to address.

The fund’s stance reflects a broader pattern. Institutional investors are increasingly pushing back on AI governance at tech companies that are spending hundreds of billions on infrastructure while offering limited transparency about data practices, environmental impact, and the displacement of workers.

NBIM owns shares in roughly 7,200 companies and votes on 110,000 resolutions at more than 11,000 shareholder meetings each year. Its decisions carry weight not because of the size of individual stakes but because other institutional investors often follow its lead. When the fund breaks with management, it tends to signal a governance concern that the broader market is watching.

Meta’s annual meeting on 27 May will test how much support the shareholder proposals receive. A similar antisemitism-related proposal at last year’s meeting drew nearly 47 per cent of independent shareholder votes. With the Norwegian fund now publicly breaking ranks on both board composition and AI data governance, that number could climb higher.