Boston, MA 06/18/2014 (wallstreetpr) – Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has appointed Seifi Ghasemi as its Chief Executive Officer. He will take over from the retiring CEO John McGlade on July 1. The current CEO is scheduled to leave office by June 30.
Mr. Ghasemi currently heads Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ROC) as the Chief Executive Officer. However, he has been a board member of Air Products & Chemicals since 2013.
The latest move to appoint a new CEO for APD appears to answer the call by activist investor Bill Ackman for the overhaul of the company’s management. The investor through his investment vehicle Pershing Square Capital Management has been pushing for a leadership change in APD, especially at the CEO level. He once said that having the right CEO in place will help the company to double its stock price within the next few years. Pershing Square Capital Management is the largest shareholder in APD with a stake of 6.7 percent.
Shares of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) jumped nearly 9 percent in early morning trading.
At Rockwood, Ghasemi has been replaced by Chief Financial Officer Robert Zatta in an interim capacity. Shares of Rockwood fell in the morning trading on the news that Ghasemi is leaving specialty chemicals maker.
CEO remuneration
The new CEO Ghasemi will earn an annual base salary of $1.2 million, according to regulatory filing. His annual base salary at Rockwood was $1.1 million in 2013. Ghasemi is a Stanford University-trained mechanical engineer. In his own words, the new CEO said in a statement announcing his appointment that he is excited about the “significant growth opportunities that lie ahead.”
He looks forward to working with all the shareholders of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in taking the company forward. Perhaps that comes as sweet music to the ears of Ackman, who believes that the company is undervalued, and only the right CEO can unlock the value.
Strong track record
According to Evert Henkes, the presiding director of the board of Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD), Ghasemi is a dynamic leader whose track record in delivering superior financial performance speaks for itself. He expects the company and investors to benefit from the deep insight of the new leader.
