Masimo CEO Joe Kiani ousted from board after proxy fight; Politan wins two seats

Activist investor Politan won the two board seats it was seeking at Masimo, defeating founder Joe Kiani and another director at the shareholder vote.
Politan nominees Darlene Solomon and Bill Jellison will join two others who were added to the board in a prior proxy fight.
The victory for Politan likely will result in the departure of Kiani as CEO.

Activist investor Politan Capital won the two board seats it was seeking at medical technology company Masimo, defeating founder and CEO Joe Kiani and another director, Chris Chavez, at the shareholder vote.

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Masimo shares rose more than 2% in extended trading. Politan nominees Darlene Solomon and Bill Jellison will join Politan investment chief Quentin Koffey and former Johnson & Johnson executive Michelle Brennan, who obtained board seats in a prior proxy fight last year.

"We look forward to meeting with, learning from, and working together with the Healthcare and Consumer employees to make Masimo an even greater company," the four directors said in a statement after the vote on Thursday.

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Politan's nominees in total received roughly twice as many votes as Kiani and Chavez, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss non-public information freely.

The extended proxy fight was marked by a fierce legal battle. Masimo, best known for its litigation with Apple over the company's use of pulse-oximetry technology in the Apple Watch, sued Politan, alleging errors in its proxy statement. The activist, in turn, sued Masimo, claiming the company had manipulated the vote count with the help of a powerful shareholder ally.

Masimo's effort for injunctive relief was ultimately rejected, although Koffey was held in contempt of court for revealing the judge's decision while it was under seal. The victory for Politan will likely result in the departure of CEO Kiani as well as operating chief Bilal Muhsin. Kiani and Muhsin have both told shareholders they would quit if Kiani was ousted from the board.