— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

Air Products’ Chairman, Chief Executive and President Seifi Ghasemi was voted off the company’s board of directors today.

The Upper Macungie Township-based company said preliminary results of the vote of shareholders means the board has to meet soon to appoint a chairman, among other matters.

The company had already said that in the future, the roles of chairman and chief executive will be held by different people. Corporate governance advocates recommend having an independent chairman; that is, somebody who is not also an executive of the company.

Ghasemi can’t be chairman of a board he isn’t on, but he will remain as CEO. The company said earlier that it will pick a president soon who will become chief executive within three months of the first appointment, so Ghasemi will leave as CEO later this year.

That plan has already been questioned by investment firm Mantle Ridge, which said earlier that the succession process the company set is “perpetuation of the status quo.”

Mantle Ridge is an activist investor, buying stakes in companies and then pushing for changes to boost the value of its holdings. (Note: this has nothing to do with social-justice activism, so please don’t send me any comments about “woke” corporations this time.)

Shares of the maker of industrial gases (NYSE:APD) rose $7.01 to $324.00 at closing. At that price, Air Products has a market capitalization of $72 billion.

New York City-based Mante Ridge placed three of its four nominees — Andrew Evans, Paul Hilal and Dennis Reilley — on the board. Air Products put out a congenial statement, welcoming new board members.

That doesn’t give Mantle Ridge control, but it does give them seats at the table. Mantle Ridge owns about 2% of the company’s stock, but its campaign for change attracted the support of other investors and of firms that advise big investors (pension funds, mutual funds).

Both sides took a lot of shots at each other. Mantle Ridge said the shares could be trading at $425, and it blamed use of capital, strategy and leadership.

Ghasemi has been pushing the company to invest in hydrogen, which he sees as a replacement for fossil fuels as the world turns to clean energy.

Air Products said it was doing fine and moving forward, and had various things to say about Mantle Ridge, here’s a sample.

The company also increased its quarterly dividend on common stock yesterday to $1.79 per share, up from $1.77.

Air Products is a global maker of hydrogen, helium, and other industrial gases and related items.

— Disclosure: I own shares in Air Products. I’d like to see them go to $425 but I voted for Ghasemi to stay on the board. He says more and more-interesting things about his business than most CEOs do, so I’ll miss his entertaining discussions. Happy retirement — if he indeed retires. At age 80, he’s been going strong.

Here’s a cut-and-paste version of the Air Products statement today. There is a link to the complete release above.

Air Products Reports Preliminary Voting Results from 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

Welcomes Andrew Evans, Paul Hilal, Bob Patel, Dennis Reilley and Alfred Stern 

Air Products (NYSE: APD) today reported preliminary voting results from its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (“Annual Meeting”) held on January 23, 2025.  

Based on preliminary results, Air Products shareholders have chosen to elect the following nominees to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors: 

• Tonit M. Calaway 
• Lisa A. Davis 
• Andrew Evans 
• Jessica Trocchi Graziano 
• Paul Hilal 
• Bhavesh V. (“Bob”) Patel 
• Dennis Reilley 
• Wayne T. Smith
• Alfred Stern  

The Company issued the following statement: 

“We welcome all our new directors and look forward to working together in the advancement of our Company. We thank our outgoing directors, Casey Cogut, Seifi Ghasemi, David Ho, Ed Monser, and Matthew Paull, for their dedication and years of service to Air Products. We appreciate the engagement and dialogue we have had with all our shareholders throughout this process and reiterate our commitment to delivering meaningful, long-term value.” 

The final voting results, as tabulated by an independent inspector of elections, will be reported on a Form 8-K that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the coming days and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on the Company’s Investor Relations website. The Board intends to meet promptly to address various matters, including reconstitution of committees, appointment of a Chair, and CEO succession planning. In the interim, Mr. Ghasemi will continue as the CEO of the Company. 

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About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 80 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets and generating a cleaner future. The Company supplies essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, medical and food. As the leading global supplier of hydrogen, Air Products also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world’s largest clean hydrogen projects, supporting the transition to low- and zero-carbon energy in the industrial and heavy-duty transportation sectors. Through its sale of equipment businesses, the Company also provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers globally.

Air Products had fiscal 2024 sales of $12.1 billion from operations in approximately 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of over $65 billion. Approximately 23,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products’ higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and reimagine what’s possible to address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook or Instagram.