Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris draws Endeavour Mining's weakest investor backing at 2026 annual meeting

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has kept his place on the board of Endeavour Mining, although shareholders handed him the weakest endorsement of any director at the gold producer's annual general meeting in London. The company said on May 21 that every resolution passed, yet the voting tallies revealed a clear pocket of investor unease.

Sawiris won re-election with 91.88% of votes in favor, leaving 8.12% against. By contrast, most of his fellow directors sailed through with backing above 99%, including John Munro at 99.87% and Sakhila Mirza at 99.90%. That gap left Sawiris as the standout target of dissent.

The telecom and mining magnate has long ranked among Endeavour's most prominent shareholders and board members. Moreover, his Egyptian investment vehicles have backed the company's growth across West Africa, where Endeavour ranks as the region's largest gold miner with operations in Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

Investors did not spell out their reasons, and protest votes against long-serving non-executive directors often reflect concerns about board tenure, independence or competing commitments. Sawiris sits on several boards and runs sprawling interests spanning telecoms, mining and media, which can prompt governance specialists to question how directors split their attention.

The unease extended beyond the board votes. Endeavour's directors' remuneration policy passed with just 81.67% support, a notably softer result than the near-unanimous backing for most other items. Pay resolutions routinely draw scrutiny at large miners, especially when bullion prices and executive rewards both climb.

Endeavour, listed in London and Toronto, has positioned itself as one of the world's senior gold producers at a time when bullion prices sit near record highs. Therefore, the company enters the rest of 2026 with strong cash generation and an active share buyback program, both of which tend to soothe restless shareholders. Investors renewed that buyback authority with about 99.9% support.

The meeting also reappointed BDO as auditor. Still, the spotlight fell on Sawiris, whose result offers a rare, quantifiable read on how Endeavour's investor base views one of its highest-profile backers.

The dissent stops well short of a revolt, since nine in 10 voted shares still favored his return. Nevertheless, the gap between Sawiris and his peers gives the board a signal it cannot easily ignore as it weighs future director elections.