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How should we evaluate board skills quiz, plus Pfizer and Air Products activists, and Zoom’s happy CFO
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PROXY COUNTDOWN SCRIPT
This is Proxy Countdown. Welcome to the big show for the week of October 7, 2024 alongside my tag team partner Matt Moscardi. I'm Damion Rallis. On today’s countdown:
LPL CEO Dan Arnold said something he shouldn’t have
Zoom is super stoked about its new CFO
A proxy battle at Pfizer is heating up quickly
An honorary victory for environmental shareholder proposals at General Mills
And on the Big Vote, Matt made a quiz
Trade Wire - BUY/SELL
Top Stories:
LPL Financial Holdings fired its CEO Dan Arnold for violating the company's code of conduct and appointed chief growth officer Rich Steinmeier as the interim CEO.
Danny-boy was terminated for “Cause” and is therefore not entitled to receive severance benefits.
All we know so far is that Danny-boy, who had been CEO since 2017, was fired for making statements, not yet known publicly, to employees that violated the company’s code of conduct.
We have parity at ITT Inc. Maggie Chu is now a director and we are 50/50: 5W/5M. How sweet it is,
CEO Walter W. Bettinger II is stepping down at The Charles Schwab Corporation at the end of the year. Next up is Charles Schwab President Richard A. Wurster. Still lurking on the board are Charles Schwab and daughter Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz, who control 68% of actual influence.
Kinsale Capital Group has added Mary Jane B. Fortin to its Board. This is only the 3rd woman: the other 2 have combined 3% influence: Michael P. Kehoe, the company’s CEO, Chair and largest individual shareowner with 4% of shares, controls 78% of board influence.
Zoom Video Communications announced the appointment of Michelle Chang as the Company’s CFO. Her initial grant of restricted stock units is worth $24 million. HELLO!!
Two old dudes, Hansel E. Tookes II and Kurt M. Landgraf, are stepping down from the board of Corning Incorporated. Before their retirement, Corning’s board included 6 dudes over the age of 70. Both retiring directors have served since George W. Bush’s delightful administration.
PROXY CAGE MATCH
The big rumble this week is at Pfizer, where activist investor Starboard Value has accumulated a $1 billion stake to revive flagging profitability at the drugmaker. Reports indicate that Starboard believes Pfizer had been mismanaged as the pandemic receded, notably in spending its $92bn Covid windfall on a costly $70bn acquisition spree. Pfizer’s market value has roughly halved since its pandemic peak.
The latest news is that, after initial reports that former Pfizer CEO Ian Read and former CFO Frank D’Amelio would be supporting the activist, the two former Pfizer executives announced late Wednesday night that they won’t support efforts by activist investor Starboard Value to shake up the giant drugmaker.
In response, Starboard alleged that Read and D’Amelio were coerced into issuing the statement. People within Pfize