Cohn, who has served on the boards of several technology companies including Twitter and eBay, called Salesforce “one of the pre-eminent software companies in the world”, adding that he has “developed a deep respect for [Salesforce co-CEO] Marc Benioff and what he has built”.

However, Elliott under the leadership of founder and co-CEO Paul Singer is known for wielding the aggressive tactics associated with activist firms. In 2021 the British drugs maker GlaxoSmithKline, now known as GSK, resisted attempts by Elliott to make Emma Walmsley reapply for her job before the company underwent a restructuring, while in the same year it accused the UK energy firm SSE of having a “lacklustre” business plan.

In 2012 a dispute with the Argentine state over sovereign debt owned by Elliott led to the temporary impounding of an Argentine naval ship in Ghana. Elliott also buys businesses and is the owner of UK bookshop chain Waterstones.