The change in tactics by Legion Partners Asset Management comes a few days after Genesco directors
elected three new board members and said longtime members Marty Dickens and Kathleen Mason will retire from the board this summer. Word of Legion Partnersâ less ambitious four-director push â the firm hasnât yet named the incumbent directors it is targeting â also comes after a period of intensive but ultimately fruitless negotiations. During those talks, Legion â which owns nearly 6 percent of the company â demanded, among other things, that lead independent director Matthew Diamond step down soon and that the sides agree to a multi-year overhaul while Genesco offered to have Legion bring one of its candidates on board.