(Bloomberg) -- Charlie Penner, who spearheaded a historic shareholder campaign against Exxon Mobil Corp. more than three years ago, got backing from the late Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management for a new fund that will press corporations for change.
Penner is starting his firm, Ananym Capital Management, with Alex Silver, a former partner at activist fund P2 Capital Partners. They’ll privately push small- to mid-cap companies to do things like improve their operations, pursue mergers, sell assets or go private, according to people with knowledge of the matter. They asked not to be identified because the fund is private.
Penner will be head of engagement at Ananym, while Silver will serve as investment chief. The fund may embark on proxy battles but only as a last resort, one of the people said. Penner declined to comment on fundraising, while Caylin Navo, Tiger Management’s general counsel, didn’t return messages seeking comment. Silver declined to comment.
Penner previously worked at Engine No. 1., a small fund founded by Chris James that scored a stunning victory over Exxon in 2021 by landing new directors on its board in a bid to prepare the oil giant for the shift to cleaner energy. Penner quit the fund later that year.
Before Engine No. 1, Penner worked at activist hedge fund Jana Partners, where he worked with the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to successfully pressure Apple Inc. to introduce more parental controls on its devices to curb growing screen addiction among children. He had also worked on campaigns including Whole Foods.
Silver previously worked at Karsch Capital Management, Soros Fund Management and Lazard Inc., according to his Linkedin profile.
Semafor previously reported Penner’s fund launch.
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