Carl Icahn (photo) is determined to wrest at least some power from Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) CEO Henri Termeer (photo). In a new disclosure, Icahn revealed that he plans to ask the company's board to strip Termeer of his role as chairman, leaving him with the CEO role alone.
Icahn is in the middle of a proxy fight with Genzyme and is seeking spots for himself and three cohorts on the company's board. It's his third proxy battle at the company. He has a variety of beefs with management, not least its recent manufacturing troubles, which resulted just yesterday in a $175 million fine and FDA consent decree.
In this latest sally, Icahn rails against Termeer for "poor planning" and said the company's "complacent culture" fed its manufacturing woes. Termeer is too close to the company to be an objective leader of the board, he says. "[R]emoval of Termeer from the board would send a message to FDA that he is no longer in total control," Icahn said in an SEC filing, adding, "[W]e must immediately change the board to show that Termeer is no longer 'king of the company' even if he does remain as CEO."
Will Icahn be successful? Does he have a point?
- see the Reuters news