Agreeing with criticism that some board members are burning their candles at both ends, activist investor Carl Icahn plans to reduce his number of director positions in the coming months. The outspoken Icahn, who has for years railed against perceived executive incompetence and market inefficiencies, currently sits on seven boards.
One of his director spots, on the board of biotech company Imclone Systems, will soon disappear as it has agreed to a buyout offer by pharmaceuticals manufacturer Eli Lilly. The $6.5 billion deal was accepted earlier in the month and is expected to go through by year’s end. Icahn purchased a controlling stake in Imclone just two years ago, immediately forcing out the company’s chief executive and entire board of directors.
As for Icahn’s other six board seats—including positions at Yahoo, Blockbuster, XO Holdings, and WCI Communities—it remains to be seen where the cuts will fall. “Frankly, I believe that you should not be on that many boards and…in the next six months I intend to be on fewer boards,” said Icahn in an interview with Reuters yesterday.
With the market in an extended period of turmoil, criticism has arisen towards directors that spread themselves too thin across a difficult corporate landscape. They allege that board seats are being considered too lightly, and that directors like Icahn are doing a disservice to their individual boards.
Icahn agreed with this sentiment in his interview, of course making it a point to highlight what he believes to be the real problem: “most boards in my opinion in this country are dysfunctional. Board members should be there to make our management accountable.”