Hedge fund Starboard Value has reignited its proxy battle with Autodesk, nominating three director candidates to the engineering and design software maker’s board, including Chief Executive Officer and Founder Jeff Smith, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The move comes as Starboard continues to push for margin growth and cost-cutting measures at the company.
Starboard’s other nominees are Geoff Ribar, former CFO of Cadence Design Systems, and Christie Simons, a senior partner at Deloitte & Touche.
Starboard, which holds a $500m stake in Autodesk, had previously cut its investment by 44% in Q4 2024, according to regulatory filings. The hedge fund argues that Autodesk overspends compared to its software peers and has underperformed the broader market.
Autodesk, with a $58bn valuation, has seen its shares fall over 7% in 2024—outpacing the S&P 500’s 1.8% decline.
In response to Starboard’s renewed push, Autodesk stated that its strategy is working, citing the addition of two independent directors in December. While the company expressed concerns about Starboard’s nomination process, it said it remains open to interviewing the hedge fund’s candidates.
Starboard’s renewed campaign follows a failed attempt last year to push its own board candidates. After losing a legal battle to reopen director nominations, the hedge fund called for leadership changes and expense reductions.
In December 2024, Autodesk responded by appointing two independent directors: John Cahill, former CEO and chairman of Kraft Foods; and Ram Krishnan, COO of Emerson.
The 13-member board is currently chaired by Stacy Smith, a former Intel executive, who also serves on the boards of Intel and Kioxia.
