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Rowan, Blue Harbour Agree to Add Szews to Board of Directors

Rowan, Blue Harbour Agree to Add Szews to Board of Directors

(Bloomberg) -- Rowan Cos., the drilling-services provider that counts activist Blue Harbour Group among its biggest shareholders, agreed to add Charles Szews to its board.

The activist fund run by Cliff Robbins owns about 8 percent of Rowan and supports the nominee, according to an updated 13D regulatory filing Tuesday.

Szews is the former chief executive officer of Oshkosh Corp., a manufacturer of emergency equipment and trucks. Rowan provides contract drilling services and manufactures equipment for the drilling, mining and timber industries.

Typically a “friendly” activist, Greenwich, Connecticut-based Blue Harbour agitates for shareholder-rewarding changes behind the scenes, shunning hostile tactics such as proxy fights and lawsuits. Unlike many activists, Blue Harbour rarely puts its affiliates on boards.

To contact the reporter on this story: Beth Jinks in San Francisco at bjinks1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Fournier at efournier5@bloomberg.net, Elizabeth Wollman, Devin Banerjee