In general
The Supervisory Board supervises the policies of the Executive Board and the general course of affairs of Wessanen and advises the Executive Board on these matters. In doing so, the Supervisory Board is guided by the interests of the Company and the relevant interests of the Company’s stakeholders. The Supervisory Board supervises and advises the Executive Board in performing its management tasks and setting the direction of the Group’s business.
Major decisions and the Group’s strategy are discussed with the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board report describes the activities of the Supervisory Board and its committees in the financial year and the main items discussed.
Independence, expertise, composition and term of employment
The Supervisory Board, in the two-tier corporate structure applicable under Dutch law, is a separate body that is independent of the Executive Board. The Supervisory Board considers all of its members to be independent as defined in the By-Laws of the Supervisory Board and in the Code.
The By-Laws of the Supervisory Board stipulate the qualification requirements for individual members of the Supervisory Board and the requirements for the composition of the Supervisory Board.
Members of the Supervisory Board are appointed for a period of four years. Supervisory Board members may in principle serve a maximum of three terms of four years each on the Supervisory Board. The rotation plan reflects when individual members were appointed.
Further details
More detailed information can be found in the Corporate governance section (page 46) of the 2011 Annual Report.