Air Products names former Linde executive as CEO after Seifi Ghasemi steps down

Feb 4 (Reuters) - Industrial gases manufacturer Air Products APD.N said on Tuesday it has named former Linde LIN.DE executive Eduardo Menezes as its CEO and will succeed Seifi Ghasemi effective Feb. 7, amid pressure from activist investors.

Last month, Air Products lost the proxy fight against Mantle Ridge after shareholders handed victory to the activist investor which had been pushing the company to replace its 80-year-old chief, by electing three new directors and unseating the CEO from the board.

Tuesday's announcement will bring an end to a months-long boardroom battle, which was backed by hedge fund D.E. Shaw and proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis, Institutional Shareholder Services and Egan-Jones Proxy Services.

Air Products also named Wayne Smith as Chairman and Dennis Reilley as Vice Chairman of the board. Both Menezes and Dennis Reilley have held executive positions at rival firm Linde.

Air Products' shares were down marginally in morning trade.

Last year, Mantle Ridge revealed a $1 billion stake in Air Products and said it would push the company to replace its octogenarian CEO Seifi Ghasemi, restructure the board and improve capital allocation.

Investors had expressed concerns that Air Products was shifting focus from its core business towards clean energy. The company's stock has risen over 18% since Mantle Ridge revealed its stake in October.

Mantle Ridge is backed by Paul Hilal, who helped install Ghasemi as CEO nearly ten years ago when he first researched Air Products as a partner at Pershing Square Capital Management.