Hedge fund adds former Home Depot, Staples execs to aid Office Depot fight

New York -- A Tuesday report by the Wall Street Journal said that activist hedge fund Starboard Value has added former Home Depot and Chrysler executive Robert Nardelli and ex-Staples vice chairman Joseph Vassalluzzo as advisors – part of Starboard’s plan to make sweeping changes at Office Depot Inc.



According to a Monday filing, Nardelli and Vassalluzzo will provide counsel toward improving Office Depot’s operations and strategies.



Earlier in November, Starboard – Office Depot’s largest common shareholder with a 14.8% ownership stake – denounced the office supply retailer’s adoption of a poison pill rights plan, accusing Office Depot of scheming to limit the influence of shareholders over the board’s composition and company operations.