Carl Icahn, a billionaire investor and major shareholder in Cheniere Energy, has issued a statement in support of Cheniere’s recent decision to replace Charif Souki as the company’s CEO.
In a statement released on his website, Mr Icahn said: “There is no doubt that Charif Souki has proven that he is a talented entrepreneur but at this time there is also little doubt that the board wished to move the company in a direction that differed greatly from the path Mr Souki wanted. It is also telling that Mr Souki sold a great deal of his stock, which made it somewhat easier for him to ‘swing for the fences’ making it a win-win for Mr Souki but not necessarily for the shareholders.
“I thank Mr Souki for helping to build a great company. I also thank Mr Neal Shear and Mr G. Andrea Botta for stepping in at this time, but most importantly I thank and congratulate the board for having the ‘guts’ to take these actions, which I fully support.”
Edited from press release by Callum O'Reilly