Crown Castle, a leading communications infrastructure provider, has announced the retirement of its CEO Jay Brown, coinciding with activist fund Elliott Management's call for a new chief executive. The move comes as part of Elliott's campaign to bring about "enhanced governance and fiber-strategy improvements" at the cell tower company.

According to a release issued by Crown Castle, Anthony Melone, a current board member, will step in as the interim CEO until a permanent successor is found. The board is actively conducting a search for the company's next leader.

Elliott Management, which launched its campaign in late November, aims to address the long-term underperformance of Crown Castle. The activist fund has been pushing for comprehensive leadership changes and has expressed dissatisfaction with the company's past decisions, referring to them as a "value-destructive strategy."

Shares of Crown Castle, which is a real estate investment trust, have suffered a decline of 13% this year, while the iShares Global REIT ETF has experienced a modest increase of almost 1%.

This is not the first time Elliott Management has targeted Crown Castle. The fund previously focused on the company in 2020, but now claims that its input was disregarded, leading to the need for a new campaign. In addition to demanding changes in the C-suite, Elliott is also pushing for bylaw amendments and a thorough review of Crown Castle's fiber business, potentially including a sale.

Crown Castle, known for its expansive portfolio of over 40,000 cell towers and rooftop installations, describes itself as one of the largest communications infrastructure providers in the country. However, the company's stock has plummeted over 40% from its 2021 high.

Elliott Management holds a significant $2 billion stake in Crown Castle. The activist fund, founded by Paul Singer, has previously undertaken campaigns at prominent companies such as Twitter and Salesforce. This year, Elliott also built a $1 billion stake in Phillips 66, where it seeks to secure up to two board seats at the crude refining company.

As of now, there has been no comment from Elliott Management regarding these recent developments. However, this clash between the activist fund and Crown Castle highlights the growing demand for change within the company's leadership structure to address its underperformance in the market.

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