Chicago 01/02/2016 - Alcoa appointed three new board members effective February 5, 2016, the company said in a release on Monday.
John Plant, the former president and CEO of TRW Automotive; Rick Schmidt, former CEO of Spirit Aerosystmes; and Sean O. Mahoney, a former Goldman Sachs banker, will join 12 other board directors as the company is in the midst of a transition into two, wholly-independent companies.
“As we prepare to separate into two strong companies, we have been actively working to ensure each has a world-class Board of Directors focused on creating shareholder value," Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said.
The split into a upstream and downstream unit is scheduled to occur in the second half of 2016.
Last week, it was reviled through an SEC filing that Hedge Fund Elliott Management Corp, which was founded and is controlled by activist investor Paul Singer, increased its stake in Alcoa to 7.4 percent from 6.3 percent
The fund supported the split and said that Alcoa was "dramatically undervalued by the public market".
"We believe the Company is taking the right steps as it moves forward with its separation," Dave Miller, Senior Portfolio Manager at Elliott Management, said. "This is a pivotal moment for Alcoa and represents an opportunity to create substantial value for shareholders."
Mahoney's term expires in 2016, while Schmidt and Plant terms will end in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
Alcoa share prices were trading down one cent or 0.1 percent to $7.28 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Editing by Tom Jennemann)