Sachem Head's Activism at Autodesk

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Synopsis
In 2015, activist hedge fund Sachem Head Capital, led by founder Scott Ferguson, launched an activist campaign at (computer aided design) CAD software maker Autodesk. The activist campaign, waged mainly in private, was over Autodesk's lacklustre financial performance, with Ferguson thinking that Autodesk's performance could improve with better cost management. Facing a proxy contest, Autodesk added Ferguson and two others to its board in exchange for a standstill agreement. Following two years of significantly improved performance, Ferguson eventually stepped down when longtime Autodesk CEO Carl Bass announced his retirement in February 2017. The case illustrates how even companies with stellar products can underperform and how benchmarking and financial analysis can help identify drivers of firm performance. The case describes how boards and investors can engage to improve governance and ultimately achieve sustainable performance objectives.
Copyright:
2018

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Publisher:
Harvard Business School Publishing
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
President and Fellows of Harvard College
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Business and Finance, Technology
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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