Even though his efforts to get on Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) board of directors came up short, Carl Icahn has been vindicated, in a way. The stock has continued to lag but today, Ed Zander, the target of much of Icahn's vitriol has stepped down as CEO of the company.

Never one to miss an opportunity to dance on an enemy of shareholder value's grave, Icahn put out a press release applauding the move:

"I believe that the replacement of Ed Zander as CEO is a positive step for Motorola, but that the action of the Board was long past due. As I said at Motorola's shareholder's meeting last year, although I like Ed Zander personally, I never thought that he was the right man for the job at Motorola. Further, I believe that the steps announced today do not even begin to address the major problems at Motorola. In my opinion, Motorola should be split into separate companies: a mobile devices company; an enterprise mobility company; a connected home company; and a company focused on mobile networks infrastructure. In particular, I believe that the best opportunity for the mobile devices' business to attract top flight management and to prosper and grow is to establish it as a stand alone business."

With Zander out of the picture, Icahn's plans may have a better shot at coming to fruition. The stock closed up more than 2% today.