Ding Ding Ding! Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a heavyweight bout! In the corner to my left, Vicki Hollub, my personal Industry hero and super stud. To my right, the man, the myth, the legend – Carl Icahn. Aggressive CEO vs. Activist investor. FINALLY!!

I was driving when Mr.Icahn released his letter but I was so excited to read it, I convinced my family to do a dramatic reading. And it was worth it! Mr. Icahn went right to the core of today’s social issue: compensation and governance. It’s a political hot button and guarantees lots of press on this one. And it’s a great question: Is Ms.Hollub’s pay of $270,000 per week appropriate comp when the median employee makes $2,387? Should the Chairman make $81,600 per Board meeting which is 4x the median FULL time employees annual comp.

I have long written I think what Ms.Hollub did was incredible. CEOs should be more aggressive and transformative. But, it’s true, she did circumvent the shareholder vote and made $CVX and $APC the big winners to date. So – when this deal is judged SHE should be given all the credit or all blame for the results.

It’s too early to assess the deal but the first punch has been thrown (hard) and the fight with Icahn is just getting started.