CSX While many activist campaigns involve a change in leadership, and still more result in one, there are somewhat novel elements in these two current situations. First, the pre-selection and anointment of a CEO candidate. Such was also the case at Canadian Pacific, where Pershing Square Capital Management and Hunter Harrison teamed up well before the proxy contest. Yet it is surprisingly rare; at JC Penney, another case everyone remembers, four months passed between Pershing Square joining the board and Ron Johnson's appointment; at Darden Restaurants, the reconstituted board chose a company insider.