Being an activist investor is hard. Just ask Carl Icahn who is reportedly seeking to take control of all 10 seats on Oxy’s board because he doesn’t like the direction the company is headed.

I have written that I hold Ms.Hollub in high regard because of the steps she took to win a deal that she felt was worth betting the company on. You don’t have to agree with her (as Mr.Icahn doesn’t and put his money where his mouth is), and we can all speculate as to how this will play out over the next few Qs but this is my defense of Oxy.

1. At Enercom, Oxy presented “this slide” to show just how long and hard they had sought to acquire APC- who had snubbed them at every turn. I don’t have access to their valuation but clearly their view is that it justified the steps.

2. The CEO has the mandate approved by the board to follow the LT strategic plan. While investors have hated the deal so far, it’s notable that $OXY has outperformed $CXO over the last 12 months, as a for instance.

3. Leverage is high BUT leverage in the short term with a plan to lower it is VERY different from being over levered for years and having not executed on deleverage.

My view, especially after having met her: if she was willing to bet the company get APC, what will she do to make it work? A lot.