On January 18, 2019, Pernod Ricard SA announced that it is discussing how to beef up its governance by making changes to its board of directors, including the creation of a lead independent director role. The Company stated that the proposed changes come after Elliott Management disclosed in December that it had taken a more than 2.5 per cent stake in the Company. The Company added that Elliott Management has pressured the Company to improve its profit margins to bring them in line with Diageo plc and said ‘inadequate corporate governance and a lack of outside perspectives have contributed to underperformance’. The Company stated that Chief executive, Alexandre Ricard, met with representatives from Elliott Management earlier this week. The Company added that the two sides have been communicating since November and so far relations have remained cordial. The Company stated that its efforts to improve its governance were continuing and had begun long before Elliott Management’s arrival, pointing to the arrival of 3 new independent directors last year. The Company added that it would announce any further governance changes in due course, once they have been proposed, debated, and adopted by the board.