Engaged Capital plans director nominees for BlackLine board

Engaged Capital announced its intention to nominate director candidates to BlackLine Inc.'s (NASDAQ: BL) board at the company's 2026 annual meeting of stockholders.

Glenn Welling, founder and chief investment officer of Engaged Capital, cited BlackLine's stock underperformance and the board's rejection of an acquisition proposal as reasons for the nomination effort. The investment firm holds 1,083,619 shares of BlackLine common stock.

Engaged Capital's four proposed nominees include Storm Duncan, founder and CEO of technology M&A advisory firm Ignatious and former global head of technology M&A at Jefferies. Christopher Hallenbeck, senior vice president and general manager of AI & Platform at Boomi, brings over 25 years of software industry experience including roles at SAP, Google Cloud and McKinsey & Company.

Christopher Young, formerly managing director and global head of contested situations at Jefferies, has experience advising public company boards on shareholder activism and M&A matters. Christopher Hetrick serves as director of research at Engaged Capital and previously held board positions at Upbound Group Inc. (NASDAQ: UPBD).

"BlackLine's revenue growth has decelerated substantially and the Company's valuation multiple has compressed" since appointing Owen Ryan as CEO, Welling stated in the press release. He characterized the board's apparent plan to reduce its size at the annual meeting as an entrenchment effort.

Engaged Capital, established in 2012, focuses on engaging with managements and boards of undervalued public companies. The firm plans to file preliminary proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the director nominations.

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