Box to appoint three new directors under pressure from Starboard

(Reuters) – Cloud service provider Box Inc said on Monday it would appoint three new directors to its board as part of an agreement with activist investor Starboard Value LP.

Starboard is currently the third-largest shareholder in Box with a 7.7% stake, following Vanguard Group and BlackRock, according to data from Refinitiv.

While Jack Lazar, former chief financial officer of GoPro , will join Box’s board immediately, a second director will be selected from a list of candidates provided by Starboard, the company said in a statement.

The company’s board will choose a third director ahead of its annual meeting of stockholders in June, it added.

Two of Box’s current board members, including Chief Financial Officer Dylan Smith, will not stand for re-election, while one board member will retire, Box said.

Starboard first revealed a stake in Box in September and said it might talk to the company about exploring a sale, as well as on operational improvements.

Box has also formed a committee to work with its management to suggest ways to improve growth and margin.

“We see a number of opportunities for substantial shareholder value creation …,” Starboard’s managing partner, Peter Feld, said.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)