Activist investor Elliott Management's push to replace Arconic's leadership is based on "unfair" evidence that paints the newly created company as worse than it is, Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld told CNBC on Wednesday.
In November, Alcoa Inc. split into two companies, Arconic, a metal parts maker for airplanes and cars, and Alcoa Corp., which retained its slower-growing aluminum refining business.
"The most important thing is to look at the track record here, what we've done," he told "Squawk on the Street." "We've created Arconic, we've created Alcoa Corporation. In the crisis in 2009 the company had an almost near-death experience. We saved it from this."
Kleinfeld said that he also incited restructuring, introduced new capital efficiency measures, added value and grew the company's business, leading up to what he called the "super-successful" separation from Alcoa.
"Alcoa Corporation would not exist if it hadn't been for me basically creating it," Kleinfeld said.
On Monday, Paul Singer's Elliott Management started a proxy fight with the metal parts maker, suggesting that Kleinfeld be replaced by a new CEO, former Spirit AeroSystems CEO Larry Lawson. Elliott, which manages funds that own 10.5 percent of Arconic's common stock and some of its other securities, also nominated five new board members.
Elliott also proposed a plan to boost Arconic's valuation to between $33 and $54 per share. On Wednesday morning, Arconic's stock was trading at $23.98 a share, up 5.5 percent.
"I'm on one point in full agreement with Elliott," Kleinfeld said. "There's a lot more you can get as a value, and we'll get it as we have done it in the past."
Kleinfeld condemned Elliott for a note released during his interview that blamed him for the company's market cap drop after he became CEO in May 2008.
"They ignore that we had a world economic crisis that hit the commodity markets particularly [heavily]," the CEO said. "To choose the point in time when the metal prices were at the absolute high, when the world was believing in the global commodity boom ... that's a very convenient and totally unfair point."
After reviewing Elliott's assertions, Arconic's board released a statement on Monday showing unanimous support for Kleinfeld as CEO.
Arconic also reported quarterly earnings on Tuesday, missing estimates by 1 cent with adjusted profit of 12 cents per share.
Arconic cited its separation from Alcoa as a main reason for its lower-than-expected earnings report, adding that cost-cutting efforts should improve its margins in 2017. The company's current quarter revenue guidance was below analyst estimates.
Kleinfeld attributed the company's cautious 2017 forecast to aerospace companies like Boeing, for which Arconic is a supplier, reducing their inventories.