Lear Shareholders Name Activist Candidates to Board

Two activist investors have notified Lear Corp. of their three nominees for the company's board of directors. They include a former member of the Dept. of the Treasury's auto task force and a former CFO of General Motors Co.'s European unit.

Marcato Capital Management LLC and Oskie Capital Management LLC, which own a combined 5.6% Lear stake, are pressing the supplier to distribute more of its cash to shareholders. The hedge funds want Lear to double its current $1 billion stock buyback program and review its capital spending and acquisition plans.

The hedge funds have nominated Marcato founder Richard McGuire, Oskie founder David Markowitz and Enrico Digirolama, a senior vice president at insurer Allstate Corp. and former GM executive. Markowitz was an auto task force member involved in GM's bankruptcy restructuring.

Lear's eight-member board is comprised of its CEO and seven outside directors. The company says it will present its slate of board nominees when it files its proxy statement for its annual shareholder meeting.