Following investor Carl Icahn's acquisition of nearly 10% of JetBlue, two Icahn representatives are joining the airline's board of directors.
The new board members are Jesse Lynn, general counsel of Icahn Enterprises, and Steven Miller, portfolio manager of Icahn Capital. Lynn and Miller will serve as nonvoting observers to the board through JetBlue's annual meeting of stockholders this spring, after which time they will join the board as full voting members.
In buying a stake in JetBlue, Icahn had said the airline is undervalued. Commenting on the appointment of two board members, he said, "We appreciate the constructive engagement we have had with JetBlue's board and leadership team. We very much look forward to working with them in the future."
JetBlue chairman Peter Boneparth said, "We welcome Jesse and Steven to the board. With their experience on public company boards, often when navigating key inflection points, they will add useful insights as we set JetBlue on a path back to long-term sustainable growth and shareholder value creation."
JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty said, "We are already taking action to restore our historical earnings power. We are executing more than $300 million of revenue initiatives this year, and are on track to deliver significant cost savings from our structural cost program, fleet modernization and fixed-cost base reductions. Building on our distinct brand and unique value proposition, we are focused on delivering value to our shareholders and all of our stakeholders, and we welcome the contributions of our new board members as we move forward with that common goal."
With the additions of Lynn and Miller following the annual meeting, the JetBlue board will expand to 13 directors, 12 of whom are expected to be independent, JetBlue said.