The Economist (June 17)
Replacing Jeff Immelt at GE’s helm, new CEO John Flannery will need “to deal with GE’s soggy financial performance. Trian, an activist hedge fund, owns a stake in GE and, behind the scenes, has probably been agitating for change. Unless the numbers improve soon, pressure may mount for GE to break itself up. That would be a bad idea: what it now needs is less re-engineering and more consistent execution. At least Mr Flannery, unlike Mr Immelt, takes the helm when expectations are low.”
Tags: Activist, CEO, Execution, Expectations, Flannery, GE, Hedge-fund, Immelt, Performance, Re-engineering, Trian
New York Times (December 13)
Donald Trump’s choice of CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State looks certain to face opposition, even within his own party. “Why would Mr. Trump choose as his top diplomat a man whose every decision or action would be tainted by suspicion that he’s capitulating to Russian interests or those of the oil industry, having spent his entire career at Exxon Mobil?”
Tags: CEO, Diplomat, Exxon Mobil, Oil industry, Opposition, Rex Tillerson, Russia, Secretary of state, Tainted, Trump
San Francisco Chronicle (September 28)
“Score one for public shaming. Following widespread outrage… Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf has said he’ll forfeit his outstanding stock awards of about $41 million.” That’s not enough. He should resign. “The public is worn out by Wall Street’s bad behavior — and it’s also tired of watching low-level employees be scapegoated while top executives get off scot-free.”
Tags: Bad behavior, CEO, Forfeit, Outrage, Public shaming, Resign, Scapegoats, Stock awards, Stumpf, Wall Street, Wells Fargo
Wall Street Journal (May 19)
“If the U.S. had not come to the aid of the Korean people, or if we in the South had lost the war, I would not be standing here.” Kwon Oh-joon, CEO of steel manufacturer Posco, made this comment when he received the Korea Society’s Van Fleet Award in New York.
Tags: CEO, Kwon Oh-joon, New York, Posco, South Korea, Steel, U.S., War
Wall Street Journal (April 7)
“Compensation for the chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies fell more sharply last year than any year since the financial crisis, as weaker corporate performance slowed cash bonuses and accounting rules pared back pension growth.” CEO pay at the largest companies dropped by “3.8% to $10.8 million last year from $11.2 million in 2014.”
Tags: Accounting rules, Bonuses, CEO, Compensation, Financial Crisis, Pension, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (May 28)
JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon told the “the truth about proxy advisory firms” when he urged investors not to blindly follow their guidance on corporate governance and shareholder votes. Firms like Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co. “have enjoyed far too much influence over companies they don’t own and been subject to far too little scrutiny given their potential conflicts of interest.”
Tags: CEO, Conflicts, Glass Lewis, Governance, Guidance, Influence, Investors, ISS, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan, Proxy advisory firms, Shareholders, Votes
Forbes (July 20)
The computer maker Lenovo “had a banner year in 2011, with its profits up 73%.” CEO Yang Yuanqing did something unusual with his bonus, which was $3 million more than last year. “He decided to give that raise to his employees instead of himself, and divided it among 10,000 lower-level employees—receptionists and factory workers and the like. They got an average of 2,000 yuan, or $314, apiece.”
