Air Products and Chemicals (APD) activist investor Mantle Ridge on Tuesday introduced four director nominees to the company's board and its proposed chief executive candidate, Eduardo Menezes, through a series of video interviews.

Mantle Ridge, which said it owns $1.3 billion in Air Products shares, urged investors to vote for its nominees "to enhance Air Products' performance and create the long-term value that shareholders deserve."

Air Products issued a statement Tuesday saying its board is undertaking "a rigorous CEO succession plan."

"The board has clearly articulated a CEO succession plan to ensure a smooth transition between [Seifi] Ghasemi and his successor and has committed to providing an announcement of a new president and related timeline for CEO succession no later than March 31," the company said.

Air Products didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires regarding Mantle Ridge's statement.

The company's shares were more than 3% higher in recent trading.

Price: 290.21, Change: +6.97, Percent Change: +2.46