(Reuters) – Activist investor Carl Icahn’s investment firm named Aris Kekedjian, a former General Electric Co executive, as its president and chief executive officer on Monday.
Kekedjian will replace Icahn Enterprises LP’s CEO Keith Cozza, who will leave the firm on May 31. Chief Financial Officer SungHwan Cho will also be departing, the company said.
Icahn Enterprises was currently searching for a successor to the CFO, the company said.
One of the reasons behind the executives’ departure were that they were unwilling to relocate to the Miami area, where the billionaire activist investor and his firm moved last year.
Icahn planned the move as far back as in 2019 after growing weary of working in New York, Reuters reported at the time, citing people familiar with the matter.
With a market capitalisation of more than $13 billion, Icahn Enterprises has investments in energy, metals and real estate, among others.
The firm also said its estimated indicated net asset value increased by about $800 million in the first quarter.
Kekedjian is viewed as a veteran dealmaker and credited with playing a key role in the $30 billion deal between General Electric and Baker Hughes in 2016. (https://reut.rs/2PDcd1x)
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
