AUSTIN, Texas — Shareholders at the Whole Foods Market annual meeting here yesterday expressed their support for John Mackey, the chairman and chief executive officer, in a round of sustained applause and cheering after Mackey announced the defeat of a shareholder proposal to split the positions of chairman and CEO. Mackey attracted negative publicity during 2007 because of online message-board activity in which he had used an alias to criticize Wild Oats, followed by a battle with the Federal Trade Commission over Whole Foods’ acquisition of Wild Oats. After the ovation ended, Mackey said, “Since all I do as chairman is run the annual meeting, I will be leading the meeting next year, so thank you very much.” The proposal to split the two positions won support from 27% of the company’s shareholders and was opposed by 73%. During his formal presentation, Mackey said Whole Foods sees ample opportunity for growth. “No markets are saturated, so we see potential growth everywhere we are.” He said the chain plans additional stores in the New York City area, including its fifth area store, in Tribeca, later this year, plus other locations on the Upper West Side, Brooklyn, Long Island and Yonkers, as well as a relocation and expansion to 80,000 square feet of a 36,000-square-foot store in Chicago’s Lincoln Park area. Mackey also said the company hopes to announce additional locations in the London area “in the near future.”
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