The move also undermined investor confidence in the stock's future performance, said Carol Bowie, director of governance research for the nonprofit Investor Responsibility Research Center.

"Right now, the choice is either yes or no, period," said Carol Bowie, director of corporate governance services at the Investor Responsibility Research Center.

Carol Bowie, director of governance research services at the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, said that the majority of those on the Big Board's compensation committee could not be considered independent.

Likewise, Mr. Brennan's elevation should automatically cause him to review his board seats, said Carol Bowie, director of corporate governance research at the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington.

"Perks really started to go out of fashion 10 to 15 years ago," said Carol Bowie, the director of research at Executive Compensation Advisory Services.

Carol Bowie, director of governance research services for the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, applauded the exchange for highlighting the issue of board independence but considered the potential changes incremental.

Carol Bowie, director of corporate governance at the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, reported that the number of shareholder proposals related to executive pay is up 24 percent this year.

Carol Bowie, director of governance research services at the Investor Responsibility Research Center in Washington, says investors have rapidly become wary about stock options.

"This didn't put the brakes on severance at all," said Carol Bowie, a research director at the Investor Responsibility Research Center, an organization in Washington that tracks corporate governance issues.

"Fees attributed to nonaudit services appear to be disproportionate, and they held up through the entire year," said Carol Bowie, director for governance research services at the center.