CVS Health bulks its board up to 16 members, adds hedge fund CEO

CVS Health has added four new board members, including the CEO of a hedge fund that has been critical of the struggling health care giant.

The company said Monday that it expanded its board to 16 members following “productive discussions” with shareholder Glenview Capital Management.

The hedge fund holds about a 1% stake in the company according to the data firm FactSet.

Glenview has said CVS Health, which has cut its forecast several times this year, is operating well below its potential.

Glenview CEO Larry Robbins will take a seat on the CVS Health board. The company also will add H2 Health Chairman and CEO Guy Sansone, OneMain Holdings Chairman Doug Shulman and Leslie Norwalk, a former acting administrator with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The additional board members “will add new thinking and deep market and industry experiences as we focus on driving greater financial and operational performance,” CVS Health Executive Chairman Roger Farah said in a statement.

The additions shouldn’t be surprising after Glenview acquired its stake and made public comments on the company, Leerink Partners analyst Michael Cherny said in a note.

He added that the board expansion doesn’t change anything “beyond where we think CVS had already started to point the ship.”

Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS Health Corp. runs one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains and a huge pharmacy benefit management business that operates prescription drug coverage for employers, insurers and other big clients. It also covers nearly 27 million people through its Aetna insurance arm.

The company has been focused on repairing its insurance business, which has dragged on its overall performance for several quarters. It’s also operating under new leadership, with long-time company executive David Joyner replacing Karen Lynch as CEO last month.

Company shares, which have been down most of this year, climbed more than 3% to $54.96 in morning trading Monday.

FILE - A sign marks a CVS branch on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Just days after announcing a civil fine against Ford for moving too slowly on a recall, the U.S. government unveiled two investigations into recalls that may not have worked or covered enough vehicles.

The largest of the probes covers about 457,000 Ford Bronco Sport SUVs and Maverick small pickups. In April Ford recalled certain 2021 through 2024 Bronco Sports and 2022 through 2023 Mavericks were recalled because they can suddenly lose power.

There have been five complaints from owners whose vehicles lost power after getting the recall fix, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a document posted Monday. The agency will investigate whether the recall was effective. The power loss has been blamed on degraded 12-volt batteries.

The other probe covers about 113,000 Ford Expeditions from 2019 through 2020. Ford recalled about 78,000 of the SUVs in February because the driver and front passenger seat belts can tighten up and hold people with no crash apparent.

The agency says it has complaints about the problem occurring from three owners whose vehicles were not part of the recall. Investigators will check to see if the recall should be expanded.

Ford said it's cooperating in both investigations.

On Thursday NHTSA announced that Ford Motor Co. will pay a penalty of up to $165 million for moving too slowly on a recall and failing to give the agency accurate recall information.

The agency said the civil penalty is the second-largest in its 54-year history. Only the fine Takata paid for faulty air bag inflators was higher.

NHTSA said Ford was too slow to recall vehicles with faulty rearview cameras, and it failed to give the agency complete information, which is required by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

FILE - The Ford logo is seen on the grill of a Ford Explorer on display at the Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh, on Feb. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)