Elanco Animal Health Inc. has appointed two new independent directors, Kathy Turner and Craig Wallace, to its board of directors, expanding the board to 14 members.
Turner, former global chief marketing officer of IDEXX Laboratories, and Wallace, former Ceva Santé Animale CEO, were among nominees brought forth by Ancora Holdings Group LLC, a 3% shareholder in Elanco Animal Health. In February, Ancora called for leadership change at Elanco after what it called years of “anemic margins, ballooning debt, poor capital allocation and shoddy forecasting.”
Ancora had also proposed an “orderly succession process” for CEO Jeff Simmons, but Simmons will retain his position.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Ancora on a constructive path forward, and we look forward to working with Kathy and Craig toward our common goal of progressing our robust and innovative pipeline and driving near- and long-term sustainable growth and value for our shareholders,” said Elanco Chairman R. David Hoover in a press release.
Turner and Wallace also joined the board’s Finance, Strategy and Oversight Committee, which has been renamed to better reflect its charter and mandate.
“After recent engagement with Elanco, we have aligned on a constructive agreement that adds two pet health care experts to the board and one of its key committees focused on strategic planning,” said Ancora Chairman and CEO Frederick DiSanto. “Craig and Kathy are proven industry operators with experience that can support ongoing efforts to advance the high-quality pipeline assembled by management. Our recent interactions with Elanco give us confidence that Jeff and the board are focused on the right steps with respect to corporate governance and value creation.”
In connection with today’s announcement, the company has entered into a cooperation agreement with Ancora Holdings Group LLC and its affiliates that contains customary standstill, voting and other provisions. The agreement will be filed on a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
