As a former employee of BAT (before IBM) I am also (thankfully!) a pensioner of that organisation. I have recently received a document from them concerning their Member Elected Trustee Directors. This was prompted by the fact that there has recently been a merger of the BAT pension scheme with the Rothmans ditto and sets out the new arrangements.
Inter alia, it is interesting to note that, of the twelve Trustee Directors, six are nominated by the Company and six are elected by the membership (both current employees and pensioners).
Further, of the six company nominated Directors, one (the chairman) is the recently retired Director of Human Resources and another is a member of the Committee of the BAT Pensioners Association, nominated by that committee.
Thus, it appears to me that the Board is made up of 5 Company and 7 member elected officers, with a chairman who would have a personal interest in his own pension! Would that IBM's was similar!
As an additional comment, according to the periodical "Occupational Pensions", British American Tobacco provides guaranteed increases on pension from all service of "RPI to 5%". Although my pension from them is modest in the extreme, I have always been delighted with the annual increases I have received.