Norfolk Southern has agreed to expand its board of directors from 13 to 14 members, as part of a deal with activist investor firm Ancora, which had spent the last year wrestling for control of the railroad through a proxy fight.
The new board member will be chosen through a collaborative process between Norfolk Southern and Ancora. In exchange, Ancora will withdraw the four other candidates it had previously nominated for seats on the railroad’s board.
“I am confident that together with Ancora we will find the right independent director to join our Board and support our team, as we continue to build on the positive momentum that is underway at Norfolk Southern,” said Norfolk Southern CEO Mark George in a November 14 news release.
Early in 2024, Ancora had sought to remove then-CEO Alan Shaw and seize control of the company. In May, the railroad’s shareholders voted against Ancora’s attempted takeover, over concerns that the firm’s plans to slash costs could threaten safety improvements Norfolk had made following a fiery derailment in East Palestine, Ohio in February 2023. The company eventually fired Shaw in September 2024, after opening a probe into an alleged inappropriate consensual relationship with Norfolk’s chief legal officer. George — who had previous served as the railroad’s CFO — was then immediately promoted to CEO.
