The proxy fight was launched December 2011 when Bill Ackman. His company Pershing Square felt strongly that CP Rail, a poorly performing railroad needed to do better, and the journey had to start with replacing the CEO, Fred Green.
The Board at CP, led by respected former RBC Chairman John Cleghorn, first rejected, then tried to make small compromises to work with Ackman, but resisted the replacement of the CEO. When discussions broke down, Ackman turned the fight into a proxy fight at the annual Board meeting, soliciting major shareholders to support his new Board slate and new CEO choices. His CEO choice has met some resistance, but other shareholders evidently agreed the company needed a new approach.
On Thursday morning, after the results were in, the CEO resigned and four Board members removed themselves from standing for re-election. The meeting was over, without fireworks, in under an hour.
Performance has been put under a bright spotlight by the proxy action, and even the largest companies with the most distinguished board members are not immune.