Yuki Nitta, Makiko Yamazaki

TOKYO (Reuters) – A Toshiba Corp. external director rejected critics that the two shareholder representatives could skew board composition. Boardroom tensions at troubled conglomerate erupt into a public dispute over a slate director candidates.

Jerry Black (external director for Toshiba’s nominee committee of five members) said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday that he disagreed with the biases on the board.

Black was referring to Mariko Watahiki’s objection to the two nominees for board director from Elliott Management and Farallon Capital Management, hedge fund shareholders.

Watahiki (an ex-high court judge) has stated that the slate is lacking diversity, fairness, and balance.

Black stated, “When it is about the directors, I believe that they will be great contributors for the board.”

They were evaluated according to their respective capabilities. These firms spent thousands to thousands of hours researching Toshiba.

Taro Shimada (CEO) declined to speak on nominees, saying that he “is not in a position” to review the decision of the nomination committee.

However, he stated that execution of a strong business plan can only “solve the problem”.

Toshiba released a separate statement Tuesday reiterating support for all 13 candidates to the board of directors.

Satoshi Takawa, Toshiba board chair, stated in a statement that Watahiki’s views are her own and did not impact the support of the company for these candidates.