The visibility of the results and the possibility that an independently mindedboard will ax the boss may make it less likely that deep problems will go uncorrected for years.
The best way to break the monopoly of CEO-minded board members with respect to board seats is not to mandate that a certain percentage of board members must be women, as has been done in Europe, but to mandate true elections for board seats.
Though the European Commission launched an effort on March 24th to harmonise divorce law among ten like-minded countries (and it hopes other EU states will come on board), many international initiatives have become bogged down amid cultural and legal differences.
Find the like-minded men and sit next to them at dinner or call them between board meetings to garner support so you are not carrying the heavy load alone.
If Icahn is indeed on board intending to scuttle the deal, he puts himself on the same side of the table as like-minded value investors he has previously worked with.