Yes, there is precedent. I mentioned Frank Stronach in the comments, See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1976711 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1976711

Yes, there is precedent. I mentioned Frank Stronach in the comments, See http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1976711 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1976711 I'm not sure if this is universal, but Stronach (a non-executive chairman of Magna Int.) had control over the board because of his Class B share structure. Every 1 of his B share converted to 100 Common Stock (and he had over 700 Class B shares, before he decided to give up control and convert) That's quite remarkable, considering Magna is a publicly traded company.