Air Products loses proxy fight

Air Products and Chemicals will get new leadership in the coming months after activist investor Mantle Ridge ousted three members of the board at the industrial gas firm, including CEO Seifi Ghasemi, at its annual shareholder meeting Jan. 23. The vote followed a monthslong campaign by Mantle Ridge, which said that Ghasemi’s strategy for the company was too risky and too focused on energy transition. Mantle Ridge also demanded a board-controlled succession plan for Ghasemi, who is 80 years old. Air Products had committed on Jan. 17 to Ghasemi’s retiring before the end of this summer. Lead director Ed Monser and Charles Cogut also lost their seats to directors nominated by Mantle Ridge.