Blockbuster’s Former CEO on Sparring with an Activist Shareholder
by John Antioco
John Antioco was CEO of Blockbuster from 1997 to 2007. Today he invests in retail franchise concepts.
The Idea
After losing a proxy fight to the activist investor Carl Icahn, Blockbuster’s then CEO faced a new obstacle: executing strategy in the face of boardroom opposition. He looks back on what he might have done differently.
When my assistant came into my office in early 2005 and told me that Carl Icahn was on the phone, it was a complete surprise. I knew, of course, that Icahn was an “activist shareholder,” but I had no idea why he might be calling. Icahn told me he’d bought nearly 10 million shares of Blockbuster, where I’d served as CEO for eight years. ...
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