Elliott targets Southwest Airlines board in bid to shake up leadership

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Elliott Investment Management has launched a boardroom battle at Southwest Airlines (NYSE:), seeking to replace as many as 10 directors as the hedge fund pushes to oust the airline’s chief executive and improve performance, Elliott said on Tuesday.

The hedge fund has been interviewing candidates for Southwest’s 15-member board and is working toward being able to call a special meeting where investors could vote on the nominees, sources told Reuters earlier on Tuesday.

Elliott said in a regulatory filing last week that it has a 7% beneficial ownership, putting it closer to the 10% stake required for an investor to call a special meeting. Elliott has been accumulating common shares rapidly, the filing said.

The hedge fund has pushed to replace both Robert Jordan, who has been CEO since 2022, and Executive Chair Gary Kelly, who had been CEO before Jordan.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The airline, whose stock price has fallen 24% in the last 52 weeks, has tried to fix some of its problems and named a new board member in July.

Southwest reacted to Elliott’s investment by adopting a shareholder rights plan, or poison pill, that would kick in after an investor acquires 12.5% or more of the stock and allow other shareholders to buy more stock at a discount to try and prevent a takeover.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of Elliott’s plans to nominate directors.