"We usually don't have to go as far," Smith said at CNBC's Financial Advisor Summit . "Many of you might be surprised, but they all want to work with us. … They're more open to hearing our thoughts and having a nice discussion about what can be done with the company and how the company can be improved." It marks a sharp contrast from the environment when he first started his career.
" Smith also sought a turnaround at pizza chain Papa John's in 2019 at a tumultuous time for the company . Last year, he took an activist stake in software company Salesforce . The Starboard CEO was even active during the Covid-19 pandemic . He has previously called for changes at Humana, Kohl's, Mercury Systems and other companies. "In the last 10, 15 years, we've achieved a position that I'm not sure we planned on achieving, but it's really kind of unbelievable.