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Bill Ackman

What Bill Ackman thinks about management

@bill-ackman · 22 positions · 0 changes of mind

Founder and chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, the activist investment firm he started in 2004.

Bill Ackman did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2024, in their own words. Our reading of what Bill Ackman has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingShareholder activism restored the balance of power between a company's owners and its managers, and that has been good for the US stock market.

    stock market

    Their wordsAnd what activism has done, and I think we've helped lead this movement, is it restored the balance of power between the owners of the business and the management of the company. And that's been a very good thing for the performance of the US stock market actually.

    ↗Bill Ackman: Investing, Financial Battles, Harvard, DEI, X & Free Speech | Lex Fridman Podcast #413youtube.com 13th of 22 in this recording

  3. Our readingA large, respected owner on the board is what buys a CEO the time to make decisions that only pay off years later.

    Their wordsThat large owner on the board can help buy the time necessary for management to behave in a longer term way. And that's, I think, good for all the shareholders.

    ↗Bill Ackman: Investing, Financial Battles, Harvard, DEI, X & Free Speech | Lex Fridman Podcast #413youtube.com 14th of 22 in this recording

  5. Our readingHarvard's governance is broken because its self-perpetuating board can never be rebalanced from outside.

    Their wordsIt's really a self-perpetuating board that effectively elects its own members. Once the balance tips, politically, one way or another, it can be kept that way forever. There's no kind of rebalancing system.

    ↗Bill Ackman: Investing, Financial Battles, Harvard, DEI, X & Free Speech | Lex Fridman Podcast #413youtube.com 17th of 22 in this recording

  7. Our readingUniversities would be better run by business leaders than by academics the faculty approves of.

    Their wordsI would argue having a business leader run these institutions and then having a board that has, itself, diverse viewpoints, and by the way, permanently structured to have diverse viewpoints is a much better way to run a university than picking an academic that the faculty supports.

    ↗Bill Ackman: Investing, Financial Battles, Harvard, DEI, X & Free Speech | Lex Fridman Podcast #413youtube.com 19th of 22 in this recording

  9. Our readingWhen a company fails, the board is to blame rather than the CEO.

    Their wordsWhen a company fails, most people blame the CEO. I generally blame the board. Because the board's job is to make sure the right person's running the company, and if they're failing, help the person.

    ↗Bill Ackman: Investing, Financial Battles, Harvard, DEI, X & Free Speech | Lex Fridman Podcast #413youtube.com 20th of 22 in this recording