The CEO of Starboard Value, Jeff Smith, plans to engage in a proxy battle at Autodesk to enhance the performance of the software-design company and increase its share value.

Starboard, which holds over $500 million in Autodesk, aims to nominate a limited group of directors for the upcoming annual meeting, following a report by The Wall Street Journal. In a letter to Autodesk, Starboard expressed concerns about the company's lagging performance compared to the software and broader markets in recent years.

Starboard previously clashed with Autodesk over director nominations, with the company winning a legal battle to prevent the activist investor from delaying a board meeting due to missed deadlines. Reports indicated that Starboard had acquired a stake in Autodesk last year, advocating for improved profit margins, board composition changes, and CEO reassessment, particularly targeting Andrew Anagnost, who took over from Carl Bass in 2017.

Autodesk has undergone some transformations, cutting jobs globally and altering its board composition. Anagnost emphasized the company's commitment to realigning resources to strategic areas like artificial intelligence. Despite these efforts, Autodesk's stock has plummeted since reaching a peak in August 2021, declining by about 12% this year, signaling ongoing investor demands for improved performance. The company faced a setback last year when it delayed financial reporting due to an internal investigation into accounting practices related to free cash flow and operating margins.