Pitney Bowes shareholders elect four Hestia Capital board candidates (updated)

Pitney Bowes

09/05/2023 15:13

(Changes source in first paragraph, adds details on election in
paragraphs 3-4, adds spokesman's comment in paragraph 7, stock
price in paragraph 5)
    By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - Pitney Bowes Inc  PBI.N 
shareholders elected four director candidates proposed by Hestia
Capital Management, the company said on Tuesday, amid a
boardroom challenge that criticized the shipping and mailing
company's capital allocation and lagging share price.
        Hestia, which owns 8.5% of the company, nominated five
candidates and pushed for the company to explore alternative
strategies for the global ecommerce segment and to focus on
cash-generating segments like its mail aggregation business and 
postage meter unit.
    Hestia also said it wanted to replace Marc Lautenbach, the
company's chief executive officer. He was re-elected to the
board.
    Shareholders elected Katie May plus Hestia's founder and
portfolio manager Kurt Wolf as well as Todd Everett and Milena
Alberti-Perez.
        Pitney Bowes' share price rose 4.7% in early morning
trading while the broader market was down.   
  
    The company added two new directors in March, said three
incumbent directors would leave and backed the election of
dissident nominee May.
    "We welcome all new directors, including the nominees of
Hestia Capital Partners, and look forward to working with them
constructively on the future of the company and on behalf of all
shareholders," Pitney Bowes spokesman Bill Hughes said.
        Hestia could not be reached for comment.
        It received support from all proxy advisory firms, with
recommendations to elect several Hestia nominees. ISS, the
biggest proxy advisor, wrote that change is necessary on the
board because Pitney Bowes has a "history of failing to deliver
on important self-established expectations."
  
       Pitney Bowes is valued at $526 million, down from its
peak of $2 billion when Lautenbach joined in 2012.
  
        
  

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama,
Mark Porter and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 856 4331; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))