Get surprised: Bakkt acquisition, investors love Air Products’ board, Vanguard’s 4 for 1 policies, and KFC China CEO’s weird fetish

The Random Ask Matt Stuff about the Headlines Game!

1. Donald Trump’s social media group in talks to buy crypto trading venue

1. Truth Social owner is close to an all-share takeover of Intercontinental Exchange’s Bakkt

2. Which one of these key facts surprises you the most? The least? Hoover you want to answer:

1. Bakkt, which has struggled for profitability since its launch, was created by ICE, and the owner of the New York Stock Exchange still holds a 55 per cent economic interest in it.

2. Bakkt’s first CEO was Kelly Loeffler, a former head of marketing at ICE and a Republican ex-senator for Georgia during Trump’s first presidency. She is co-chair of the committee organizing his inauguration in January.

3. She is also married to Jeff Sprecher, ICE’s founder, chair and CEO.

2. Air Products Refreshes Board Ahead of Face-Off With Activists

1. Air Products and Chemicals Inc. named two new board members ahead of its shareholder meeting in a potentially defensive move against pressure from two activist investors.

2. The company named industrials executives Bob Patel and Alfred Stern as candidates for the 2025 board election, according to a statement Monday. Two existing board members — David Ho and Matthew Paull — will not seek re-election.

3. Pop QUIZ Question: Since 2015, what is the average level of investor support for Air Products and Chemicals Directors?

1. 78%

2. 88%

3. 98%

3. The CEO of Bluesky's Actual Name Means "Blue Sky" in Chinese

1. Which thing do you care about most and will either make you join Bluesky?

1. The CEO of Bluesky is in fact a woman named Jay Graber

2. Bluesky is an independent public benefit corporation

3. Bluesky is owned by Jay Graber and the Bluesky team

4. Bluesky confirms Jack Dorsey is no longer on its board

1. Dorsey hadn’t seemingly been a particularly active participant at the company. In March, when The Verge’s Nilay Patel asked Graeber for Decoder about his level of involvement with Bluesky, she said she gets “some feedback occasionally,” but implied he’s otherwise “being Jack Dorsey on a cloud,” as Nilay put it. Months before that interview, Dorsey had closed his Bluesky account.

5. After Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, Twitter severed all legal and financial ties with Bluesky Social

4. CVS strikes deal with activist Glenview Capital for four board seats

1. Just a few weeks after the health-care giant ousted former CEO Karen Lynch.

2. Glenview CEO Larry Robbins will join the CVS board effective immediately, alongside Leslie Norwalk, Guy Sansone and Doug Shulman. CVS’ board will expand to 16 members.

3. Two of the directors–Leslie Norwalk and Guy Sansone–have experience in healthcare. Which of these two useless other directors are you most excited about joining the CVS board that will now have 16 board members!

1. A hedge fund dude. Glenview Capital founder and CEO Larry Robbins

2. Doug Shulman, the CEO of a financial services holding company called OneMain Financial, where the board has a sizable -19% gender gap

5. Rate on a scale of 1-10 how surprised you are by these headlines:

1. San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie names OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to transition team

2. RFK Jr., Who Claims to Be Super Against Fast Food, Spotted Snacking on McDonald's With Trump and Elon Musk

3. Vanguard Gives Investors Option to Avoid Voting for ESG Issues

1. the "Third Party Wealth-Focused Policy," which votes an investor’s proportionate shares in accordance with the recommendations from a third-party, the Egan-Jones Rating Co. ratings agency, that “focuses on maximizing shareholder value without being influenced by political or social agendas”

2. Another new option will be "Mirror Voting Policy," which votes an investor’s proportionate shares in approximately the same proportions as the votes cast by other shareholders. This policy replaced the "Not Voting Policy."

3. The existing policy lineup comprises the "Company Board-Aligned Policy," the "Third-Party ESG Policy," and the "Vanguard-Advised Funds Policy."

4. Don Jr.’s New Gig: An Investment Firm Connected to Christian Nationalists

1. 1789 Capital, an anti-ESG venture capital firm that Donald Trump Jr. is joining instead of taking a White House role

5. Trump picks Liberty Energy CEO and Oklo board member Chris Wright as Energy secretary

1. Oilfield services company Liberty Energy -13% gender gap

2. Oklo; chair and director and 6% owner Sam Altman 

6. Bonus question: which do you hate the most?

6. And finally, China's KFC and Pizza Hut CEO [Joey Wat] said she spends hours watching her customers eat

1. Wat said that she stakes out Yum China restaurants and spends "two, three hours" watching people eat. That time leads to new product ideas, like KFC China's "mash potato burger."

2. Which surprises you the most?

1. That Yum China Holdings has a positive 10% gender influence gap–led by CEO Joey Wat and Compensation Committee Chair Min “jenny” Zhang

2. That China's KFC and Pizza Hut CEO Joey Wat spends "two, three hours" watching people eat