By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bath & Body Works on Tuesday named a veteran chief financial officer with expertise in capital allocation as a new director, marking the second time in two weeks the specialty retailer has expanded its board as it faces pressure from an activist investor.
Steve Voskuil, senior vice president and CFO at The Hershey Company, will become the board’s 12th member. He previously served as CFO of Avanos Medical, formerly Halyard Health. Before that he spent more than two decades at Kimberly-Clark Corporation in finance-related positions.
Last week Bath & Body Works added Lucy Brady, a senior executive at Conagra Brands and consumer products veteran to the board, expanding the group to 11 from 10 members.
Voskuil “brings deep knowledge of the global consumer products industry as well as substantial expertise in leading financial operations that spans from oversight of capital allocation and investment to technology infrastructure
transformation,” board Chair Sarah Nash said in a statement.
Voskuil and Brady’s appointments come weeks after Third Point, which owns a 6% stake in the company, hinted it might push for board seats.
Earlier this month, Third Point founder Daniel Loeb told his fund investors in a letter seen by Reuters that he was closely
watching the company and its new chief executive.
In December Third Point announced its stake in a regulatory
filing and criticized the company’s high costs, including
generous executive pay.
Third Point declined to comment on Tuesday.
Bath & Body Works, best known for selling soaps, candles and
lotions, is valued at $10 billion.
Third Point spent an average of $38.16 per share on the
stock which is now trading at $40.76. The period for nominating
directors opened earlier this month and continues into March.
Companies often try to stymie activists’ plans by refreshing
the board and addressing some of the criticisms investors might
use to persuade others to back them.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Richard Chang)
