Activist Investor Seeks to Force Out Norfolk Southern’s Management
Summary
After one of Norfolk Southern’s freight trains derailed last year, spilling hazardous chemicals in an Ohio town, the company’s leaders were assailed by lawmakers, regulators and angry residents, an onslaught the executives managed to survive. But Norfolk Southern’s management faces a fresh challenge this week from an investment firm that is asking shareholders to vote to replace the company’s chief executive, Alan Shaw, and appoint new directors to its board. The campaign by Ancora, a Cleveland investment firm, invokes the accident in East Palestine, the Ohio town, but its main aim is to overhaul Norfolk Southern’s business strategy to bolster its profits. “We have a balanced strategy that’s built for the future, to break the cycle of rail losing market share to truck every year,” Mr. Shaw, who has been at Norfolk Southern for three decades, said in a statement Tuesday. “It’s working, we are safer, delivering better service, becoming more productive, and creating long-term value for our shareholders.” Ancora and Norfolk Southern have been criticizing each other’s plans for the company for several weeks in an effort to win over shareholders.