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The hedge fund compete for the takeover of Southwest Airlines has its own candidate list to join the airline’s board of directors.
Elliott Investment Management said Tuesday that its plans to nominate 10 people for seats on Southwest’s 15-member board of directors are an “important step toward implementing urgent change” at the Dallas, Texas-based airline. The board nominees include four former chief executives and vice chairmen of the airline, as well as six people with “complementary expertise.”
The list includes the former CFO and deputy CEO of Ryanair Michael Cawley, former Virgin America CEO David Cush, and former United Airlines Chairman and Air Canada (ACDVF) CEO Robert Milton. Other nominees are Meta Board member Nancy Killefer and former JetBlue Managing Director Eash Sundaram.
Joshua Gotbauma former White House official who also led Hawaiian Airlines, which is emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, was also nominated. A group of unions nominated Gotbaum will serve on Starbucks’ Board last year. This offer was rejected in March.
“If elected, Elliott is confident that these candidates will shape a better future for Southwest, provide the board with much-needed expertise and relevant industry experience, and help restore the company’s position as an industry-leading airline with best-in-class profitability,” the company said in a statement.
A Southwest representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Southwest Airlines (LOVE) The stock rose more than 1% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
Elliott announced in June that it acquired a stake of 11% at Southwest with the goal of firing CEO Bob Jordan, appointing a group of friendly directors and initiating a “comprehensive business review” to get to the bottom of the airline’s ailing business.
Jordan, for his part, said: he will not resign voluntarilyIn June, Southwest resorted to a “poison pill” tactic that would significantly dilute Elliott’s stake if the company acquired more shares in an effort to gain more control.
-Melvin Backman contributed to this article.
