Huntsman Corporation HUN
Huntsman has chronically underperformed chemicals peers and missed three straight Investor Day targets; Starboard (8.6%) seeks four new directors to restore accountability and unlock value.
Thesis
Starboard Value, Huntsman's second-largest stockholder at approximately 8.6%, argues the chemicals company has suffered years of failed operational execution and dramatic long-term stock underperformance — lagging the S&P 500 by 298%, the S&P Chemicals Index by 310% and proxy performance peers by 575% since its 2005 IPO. Management has missed three consecutive Investor Day Adjusted EBITDA targets by 44%, 11% and 30%, yet the Board has paid the CEO 8-73% above the proxy peer median across FY2016-FY2020. To restore accountability, Starboard is running a proxy contest to elect four highly-qualified independent directors at the 2022 Annual Meeting: James L. Gallogly (former LyondellBasell CEO), Sandra Beach Lin (former Celanese EVP), Susan C. Schnabel (aPriori Capital) and Jeffrey C. Smith (Starboard CEO). Stockholders are urged to vote the BLUE proxy card to demand operational excellence and maximize long-term value.
SCQA
Huntsman is a diversified U.S. chemicals company with strong market positions, differentiated chemistries and a hard-to-replicate manufacturing footprint whose operating performance has dramatically understated the intrinsic value of its assets.
Huntsman has underperformed the S&P 500, S&P Chemicals and proxy peers since IPO, missed three consecutive Investor Day EBITDA targets by 44%/11%/30%, while the Board still overpaid the CEO relative to peers every year.
Starboard, Huntsman's second-largest stockholder at 8.6%, asks fellow stockholders to vote the BLUE proxy card to elect its four independent nominees — Gallogly, Beach Lin, Schnabel and Smith — at the 2022 Annual Meeting.
A refreshed Board with seasoned chemicals and finance expertise will enforce accountability, demand operational excellence, close the peer performance gap and drive significant long-term value creation for all Huntsman stockholders.
The three reasons
- 1
Huntsman has underperformed proxy peers by 575% since its IPO
- 2
Management missed Investor Day EBITDA targets three times in a row (44%, 11%, 30% misses)
- 3
Board overpaid the CEO vs. peer median every year FY2016-FY2020 despite failed performance
Primary demands
- Elect Starboard's four independent director nominees (James L. Gallogly, Sandra Beach Lin, Susan C. Schnabel, Jeffrey C. Smith) to the Huntsman Board at the 2022 Annual Meeting
- Hold management accountable for years of failed operational execution and broken Investor Day commitments
- Rein in CEO compensation that has consistently exceeded the proxy peer median despite underperformance
- Vote the BLUE proxy card
KPIs cited
Pattern membership
Composition what's on the 5 slides
Slide gallery ·
Notes
Short proxy-fight letter (5 pages) accompanying Starboard's definitive proxy materials for the 2022 Huntsman annual meeting; signed by Jeffrey C. Smith. Classic three-part attack structure: (1) stock underperformance vs. peers since IPO, (2) three consecutive missed Investor Day financial promises, (3) CEO pay well above peer median despite misses. Signature rhetorical device is the 'Failed Investor Day Promises' chart (p.3) pairing red target bars with navy actual bars and red dashed 'X% MISS' callouts — a reusable 'broken promises' template. Villain is institutional (the Board and 'management') rather than a named executive — Starboard avoids naming CEO Peter Huntsman directly in the body text (only 'Huntsman CEO' appears as a chart legend label). 'Broken promises' framing on quantitative Investor Day targets functions similarly to CEO-quote-contradiction but uses targets, not verbatim quotes, so that flag is false. No explicit target price or upside %; case is qualitative/governance-driven. Closing ask is the BLUE proxy card; shareholdersforhuntsman.com cited as proxy materials hub.