CRM Stock Alert: What to Know as Salesforce Shakes Up Its Board
Changes are happening quickly at the executive level with Salesforce (NYSE:CRM). Activist investor Elliott Management has reportedly taken a multi-billion dollar position in Salesforce. Now, the firm is looking for a major overhaul of the company’s board. Today, Salesforce announced the appointment of three new independent directors. That has CRM stock up slightly on the news.
According to Yahoo! Finance, Elliott may be “eyeing the removal of long-tenured board members that have worked closely with Salesforce Co-Founder Marc Benioff.” These include directors Craig Conway, Alan Hassenfeld and Sanford Robertson.
Jesse Cohn, Elliott Management’s big-name portfolio manager, recently expressed respect for Salesforce, calling the company “one of the preeminent software companies in the world.” Cohn said that Elliot seeks to work “constructively with Salesforce to realize the value befitting a company of its stature.”
This morning, Salesforce announced the appointment of not just one, but three new independent directors. The press release did not specifically state that these appointments were due to pressure from Elliott Management. However, Elliott likely had an influence over the appointments.
What’s Happening With CRM Stock?
There hasn’t been an immediate, strong reaction from Wall Street to these developments. CRM stock is moving less than 1% higher this morning as financial traders weigh the new board appointments.
That said, a big move in share price could still happen. Salesforce’s three new directors are notable individuals. They are Arnold Donald, former President and CEO of Carnival (NYSE:CCL), Mastercard (NYSE:MA) CFO Sachin Mehra and ValueAct Capital CEO and Chief Investment Officer Mason Morfit.
On top of these appointments, Sanford Robertson and Alan Hassenfeld have “notified the Company that they do not intend to stand for re-election” at Salesforce’s annual shareholders’ meeting this year. So, it looks like the corporate shakeup is already in effect.
Will Elliott Management get the overhaul it’s seeking at Salesforce? It definitely seems possible. CRM stock traders should stay tuned, as fresh developments could happen at any moment.
On the date of publication, David Moadel did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Motley Fool, Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, TipRanks, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.
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