Southwest Braced for Boardroom Battle as Activist Investor Nominates 10 New Members
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Southwest Airlines’ activist investor is ramping up the pressure on the carrier’s leadership team. Late on Tuesday, Elliott Investment Management published a list of ten candidates that it wants to see on Southwest’s board. It said this followed a “months-long global search.”
Among them are four former airline CEO and/or deputy CEOs. Other nominees come from what Elliott describes as “complementary” sectors.
The big names include David Cush, former CEO of Virgin America, Dave Grissen, former Group President of Marriott International and Michael Cawley, the former deputy CEO of Ryanair. There are currently 15 members on Southwest’s board of directors.
In June, Elliott took a $1.9 billion stake in Southwest, making it one of the carrier’s largest investors. Since then, it has engaged in a fiery war of words with the airline’s leadership team.
Just last month, Elliott partner John Pike and portfolio manager Bobby Xu wrote a public letter to the airline’s board. “We have become increasingly concerned by the ‘self-help’ half-measures that the Board appears to be contemplating and adopting, none of which will do any
