No activist investor may be more famous for shaking up major companies than Elliott Management. Earlier this year, for example, pressure from the hedge fund forced Starbucks to oust its CEO and replace him with Chipotle chief executive Brian Niccol. Even by the standards of Elliott, though, experts in corporate governance say what the fund has set in motion at Southwest Airlines is remarkable.
Earlier this month, chairman Gary Kelly told shareholders he would retire next year, with six other board members voluntarily stepping down in November. The news came a day after Kelly and two other board members had met with the hedge fund.
