Bill Ackman, the US hedge fund billionaire who led a successful campaign for the resignation of Harvard’s president Claudine Gay, is stepping up his shareholder activist tactics against his alma mater by backing four external candidates for its governing body.
The Renew Harvard group, which is seeking election to Harvard’s 30-person board of overseers this spring, says it wants to “restore leadership excellence at Harvard”, uphold free speech and academic standards, protect students and “remedy operational and endowment mismanagement.”
In an interview with Reuters, which first reported his backing of the campaign, Ackman said: “Harvard needs to change. Bringing fresh young blood on to the board of overseers can help with that . . . their candidacy will serve as a wake-up call for Harvard.”