10:37 AM EST, 12/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Investment firm Browning West LP has built a 4.3% interest in Quebec-based flight simulator company CAE Inc. ( CAE ) and wants a say in picking its next chief executive officer, Bloomberg is reporting on Friday.

It noted the Los Angeles-based money manager sent a letter to CAE's board on Friday, complimenting the company's "enviable market position" but stressing that it has underperformed. CEO Marc Parent recently announced his retirement after 15 years.

The choice of CAE's next boss is "critical" to realize its potential, Browning West partners Usman Nabi and Peter Lee wrote, urging directors "not to act hastily in its CEO search, but rather to engage with us to collectively recruit the best possible leader."

CAE said in November that Parent will leave at the next annual shareholder meeting, scheduled for August. Its shares have slipped about 4% over the last five years versus a 43% rise in the S&P/TSX Composite Index over the same period.

Browning West, founded in 2019, is fresh off a high-profile activist win in Canada. In May, it triumphed in a dramatic campaign at Montreal-based apparel-maker Gildan Activewear Inc., gaining control of the board in a proxy fight and bringing back its longtime CEO.

Spokespeople for CAE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally, and/or from other media sources. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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