LivePerson, Inc. LPSN
LivePerson's Founder-CEO LoCascio has destroyed value and ignored governance; Starboard is launching a 2023 proxy fight to force a CEO change or sale of the company.
Thesis
Starboard, a stockholder since December 2021, argues that LivePerson's Founder, Chair and CEO Robert LoCascio has presided over catastrophic underperformance — LPSN has trailed the iShares Software ETF by 72% since the 2022 settlement and by 395% over ten years, with no positive free cash flow in five years and a ~60% one-day drop after Q1 2023. After a 2022 settlement that added three new directors but kept LoCascio, results deteriorated further while he pursued non-core ventures (an in-house bank, a clothing line, blockchain assets, and the dilutive WildHealth acquisition). Starboard cites a toxic culture, severe executive churn, late 10-K filings, Epstein-linked scandals, and a harassment lawsuit reportedly mishandled by director William Wesemann. It has nominated a 2023 slate demanding a CEO transition or a full sale process.
SCQA
LivePerson is a conversational-commerce software company that Starboard first invested in during December 2021, believing its early-mover position in a growing sector could be unlocked by fixing self-inflicted issues.
Founder-CEO Robert LoCascio has destroyed value for years — chronic missed guidance, five straight years of negative free cash flow, a 60% one-day drop after Q1 2023, non-core pet projects, a toxic culture, and the Board refuses to act.
Elect Starboard's 2023 director slate to gain an independent Board majority, replace LoCascio with a new CEO via an expeditious transition, or alternatively run a robust sale process to maximize value.
Closing a performance gap of roughly 140% over five years versus the software sector ETF; eliminating value leakage from pet projects, the 35%+ WildHealth dilution risk, and ongoing cash burn.
The three reasons
- 1
LPSN underperformed the software ETF by 140.6% over 5 years and 394.7% over 10 years
- 2
Founder-CEO LoCascio chased non-core pet projects (bank, clothing, crypto, WildHealth) while core business deteriorated
- 3
Governance breakdown: toxic culture, Epstein Black Book ties, harassment lawsuit, NDA settlement, chronic executive turnover
Primary demands
- Replace Founder/Chair/CEO Robert LoCascio with a new independent CEO
- Add additional independent, qualified directors to the Board via the 2023 Annual Meeting slate
- Alternatively, commit to a robust sale process to maximize stockholder value
- Hold incumbent directors (notably William Wesemann) accountable for governance failures
KPIs cited
Pattern membership
Where this document fits across the library's 12 rhetorical / structural patterns.
Notable slides (4)
Notes
Five-page stockholder letter signed by Peter Feld of Starboard, announcing a 2023 proxy slate at LivePerson after a 2022 settlement that added three directors failed to produce change. Tone is unusually sharp for Starboard, citing LoCascio's appearance in Jeffrey Epstein's 'Black Book' and an alleged harassment suit (Cash v. LivePerson, 2006) settled with an NDA. Key visuals: page 2 relative TSR table vs. IGV and page 4 executive-turnover swimlane chart. Only formal 'chart' artifacts are these two; the document is otherwise plain prose on a Starboard letterhead. No stake percentage disclosed in this letter (references prior 13D from Feb 2022). Campaign phase is proxy_fight because the letter explicitly announces a nominated slate for the 2023 Annual Meeting, though the ask is framed as willing to settle short of another contested election.