Soroban Capital Urges Union Pacific To Replace CEO Lance Fritz : Report

(RTTNews) - Hedge fund Soroban Capital Partners is urging Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) to replace Chief Executive officer Lance Fritz, due to underperformance by the freight railroad operator under his leadership, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Soroban reportedly argued that Union Pacific has ranked worst in key operating metrics including safety, volume growth and total shareholder return during Fritz's eight-year tenure despite the strength of its railroad network.

According to the Journal report, the hedge fund is pushing for Jim Vena, Union Pacific's chief operating officer from 2019 to 2020, to take the top post instead. Soroban believes the company's stock price could double in two years under Vena, who was in the running in 2021 to be CEO of Canadian National Railway Co.