Elliott added, “It is simply the latest debacle in a pattern of conduct in which the board has repeatedly excused, endorsed<br />and participated in Dr. Kleinfeld’s poor leadership and attempts to entrench himself and his allies on the board.”<br />Mr. Kleinfeld will be replaced as chief executive on an interim basis by David P. Hess,<br />a former top executive at United Technologies who joined Arconic’s board this year.<br />Yet just months later, Mr. Kleinfeld is out at Arconic, after mounting pressure from the big hedge fund Elliott Management<br />and a letter he sent in response without his board’s approval.<br />Ousted After Sending Unauthorized Letter to Hedge Fund -<br />By MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDAPRIL 17, 2017<br />As chief executive of Alcoa, Klaus Kleinfeld oversaw an effort to split the company in two.<br />The hedge fund argued that the current board had stood by Mr. Kleinfeld until the letter and showed no appetite for changing his strategy.<br />In its statement announcing his departure — a decision<br />that the company described as being made by mutual consent — Arconic said that Mr. Kleinfeld only showed “poor judgment” in sending the letter.
