I noticed an interesting corporate conflict. Land & Buildings, a fairly well-known investment firm, is openly urging First Industrial shareholders to vote against re-electing the current chairman Matt Dominski and director H. Patrick Hackett, Jr. at the upcoming meeting.

What’s the essence? The company believes that the current management simply isn’t capable of maximizing shareholder value. In their view, the board of directors is stuck and unable to bring fresh ideas to the company. The result is declining performance and shareholders losing potential profits.

This is a typical activist investing scenario. Land & Buildings is demanding changes on the board, hoping that new faces can turn the situation around and improve financial results. For shareholders, this could be positive — a clash of ideas often leads to better management.

It’s interesting to see how major investors start to pressure management when they see that the current team isn’t performing. If the majority of shareholders agree with Land & Buildings, changes in the board of directors are almost inevitable.