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Yesterday, The Greenbrier Cos. announced co-founder, former chairman and top executive, and current board member Alan James died. He was 74.

In the early 1980s, James served Greenbrier as president and chief executive officer, then served as chairman for about 20 years. In October, Greenbrier named Benjamin Whiteley to succeed James after his 10-year employment agreement as chairman expired. James continued to serve as a director.

"Alan was my long-time partner and a force in building Greenbrier into the company it is today," said Greenbrier President and CEO William Furman in a prepared statement, adding that he and James co-founded the company and were partners for more than 35 years. "On behalf of our employees and the entire board, we are deeply saddened by Alan's death."

In recent years, James lodged numerous complaints with the board about various practices, alleging potential insider trading, criticizing the process for selecting outside board members and disapproving of procedural matters.

In December, James sent a letter to Greenbrier's board asserting that certain directors or officers might have violated securities laws when handling an inquiry into the company's financial statements for European operations.
In 2003, the board's audit committee and independent auditors conducted an inquiry into European operation accounting at James' request. Greenbrier officials believe the charges have no merit.

In July 2004, James filed a lawsuit in a Delaware court to stop Greenbrier from adopting a "poison pill," a corporate mechanism designed to prevent hostile takeovers. James claimed other board members breached their duties to shareholders by approving the poison pill and sought to have the measure dropped.