Ackman dodges question on P&G chief Bill Ackman, the activist investor with a stake of almost $2bn in Procter & Gamble, has dodged a question on whether he supports Bob McDonald, the group's chief executive, as P&G's board declared it was united behind the company's head. Asked whether he supported Mr McDonald, Mr Ackman, head of Pershing Square Capital, said only: "I look forward to meeting him." He said Pershing, an $11bn hedge fund, had invested $1.8bn in the world's largest consumer goods group by sales. P&G, which owns brands including Pampers, Gillette and Pantene, has been battling to revive its profits growth, cut costs and win back the confidence of disillusioned investors. News of Pershing's investment in P&G has sparked a round of speculation over Mr Ackman's plans and whether he will push for management change, a break-up or the spin-off of businesses. In response to media reports that some board members were unhappy with Mr McDonald, which P&G described as "erroneous," the company's independent directors took the unusual step of issuing a statement backing him on Wednesday. "The board is overseeing a plan to return P&G results to levels that produce the best long-term value for shareholders [and] unanimously supports the plan and Bob McDonald, as he leads its implementation," it said. Speaking at a CNBC conference, Mr Ackman said he thought he could influence P&G even with a stake that was relatively small, equating to roughly 1 per cent of its outstanding shares. P&G shares have fallen 2.8 per cent this year while the consumer staples index has risen by 8.7 per cent. A person familiar with Pershing said Mr Ackman's plans were likely to centre on managerial change and operational improvement rather than selling assets to return capital to shareholders or taking on more debt. He has focused on management and operations at retailer JC Penney and Canadian Pacific Railway, where he also has stakes. Pershing told investors this week that it bought P&G shares using the proceeds from the sale of a stake in Citigroup, according to Reuters. Matt McCormick, fund manager at Bahl & Gaynor who has a stake in P&G, said the board had been "compelled" to put out the statement supporting Mr McDonald. "If they did not it would add more fuel to the fire for the critics," he said.