A former Williams Companies board member said Monday he will nominate a slate of 10 hedge fund employees as directors of the Williams board to stand for election at the company’s 2016 Annual Meeting, according to a CNBC report.
Corvex Management LP founder and activist investor Keith Meister remains one of Williams’ largest shareholders. He was one of the six company directors who resigned from the Williams board following an unsuccessful effort to oust CEO Alan Armstrong in June.
Meister said he and the other five directors lost confidence in Armstrong over Williams’ inability to close a deal to be sold to Dallas-based Energy Transfer Equity. In addition, Meister indicated Williams missed financial expectations, saw growth projects fail and had a poor safety history over the course of five years, according to CNBC.
Meister said he was forced to launch a proxy battle after Williams declined to adopt a plan to nominate a majority of seven independent directors to its board.
“Given the events of the last year, it is unfortunate that Corvex intends to launch a distracting and costly proxy contest while Williams is moving forward with its plan to identify new, highly qualified and independent directors,” said Williams in written comments issued Monday afternoon.
“The Williams Board maintains open communications with stockholders, welcomes their input and perspective, and is committed to acting in their best interests. In that regard, after discussions with Corvex and other Williams stockholders, Williams intends to appoint three new, independent directors to its Board of Directors prior to the Company’s 2016 Annual Meeting. The Board’s comprehensive process to identify additional highly qualified directors is underway, and Williams expects to announce new Board appointments in the coming weeks. Williams is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and to maintaining a world-class Board that comprises directors with appropriate expertise, experience and skills.”
