Idiot Inc. » Power Struggles

Management shakeup at Borders

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:50:41 +0000

Struggling book an music retailer Borders Group has ousted CEO George Jones and replaced him with turnaround expert Ron Marshall. Also out at the company is CFO Ed Wilhelm who will be replaced by Mark Bierly.

The company has struggled to repay a $42 million dollar loan and its stock has taken a nosedive over the last year. The company also faces delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. Messers Marshall and Bierly will have their work cut out for them.

[Yahoo Finance] Borders Group says Jones out, Marshall in as CEO

Kuwait firebombs $17 billion deal with Dow Chemical

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:58:09 +0000

Kuwait’s parliament has decided to pull out of a $17.4 billion petrochemical joint-venture with Dow Chemical. Don’t ask us what a petrochemical joint venture is, but supposedly it’s going to cost the company $7.5 billion.

A Dow spokesman wiped tears from his eyes as he made this statement:

“[The company is] extremely disappointed with the decision by the Kuwait Government, and is in the process of evaluating its options pursuant to the Joint Venture Formation Agreement.”

Read: we’re going to lawyer-up and come after you like Saddam Hussein.

[CNN] Kuwait kills $17B Dow Chemical deal

Daniel Laikin resigns from National Lampoon

Jacopo Kane — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 00:47:30 +0000

Embattled CEO Daniel Laikin has resigned from National Lampoon in the wake of his arrest last Monday for a failed stock manipulation scheme. Laikin has been accused of paying a stock promoter $63,000 in kickbacks in order to increase the price of the comedy company’s lagging stock.

Laikin will be replaced by Timothy Durham, who will also be heading up a “committee” of two people to investigate the alleged crimes by Laikin and Lampoon. I wonder if their investigation will turn up anything that the SEC might have missed.

Farewell to ~~Don~~ Dan Laikin:

[MarketWatch] National Lampoon, Inc. Announces Appointment of New President and CEO and Formation of Special Committee

Clint Rivers ousted from Pilgrim’s Pride

Jacopo Kane — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:44:37 +0000

Pilgrim’s Pride, the chicken company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, has given the boot to its CEO, Clint Rivers. Rivers was at the helm of the company during a tumultuous period that included layoffs, a free-falling stock, and huge losses.

Rivers will be replaced by Don Jackson — a former executive from the more successful, non-bankrupt Foster Farms.

Delta sued by flight attendants’ union

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:30:38 +0000

Delta Airlines is being sued by The Association of Flight Attendants which is trying to prevent the company from “carrying out a seniority integration process” before a vote on whether or not the attendants will unionize. The vote is related to the airline’s merger with Northwest because NWA’s flight attendants are unionized while Delta’s are not. The flight attendants will seek to vote before the staff integration takes place.

[AJC] Flight attendant union sues Delta

Racing for cash, Ford sells 20% of its stake in Mazda

Jacopo Kane — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:21:35 +0000

Ford will give up its controlling stake in Mazda by selling 20% of the Japanese automaker for $450 million. The company is in desperate need for cash after its October sales dropped by 30%. Two Ford members will get the boot from Mazda’s board of directors, but the operations of the two companies will likely continue to be cooperative in the short-term.

A cowardly anonymous analyst had this to say about the deal:

“From a strategic perspective there’s not much change, but it was a desperate move by Ford, selling at this low price, and Mazda had no choice but to buy back part of it because they couldn’t find enough buyers.”

[Reuters] Ford abandons Mazda control with 20 percent stake sale

Jerry Yang resigns as Yahoo’s CEO in internal memo

Jacopo Kane — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:56:16 +0000

The curtain has closed on Jerry Yang’s tumultuous 18-month tenure as CEO of Yahoo. In this somber internal memo, Yang reflects on his reign and discusses how the search for a new CEO is underway. As usual, his shift key went unused.

To: all yahoos
From: Jerry
Subject: update

yahoos -

i wanted to address all of you on the news we’ve just announced. the board of directors and I have agreed to initiate a succession process for the ceo role of yahoo!. roy bostock, our chairman of the board, is leading the effort to identify and assess potential candidates for consideration by the full board. the board will be evaluating and considering both internal and external candidates and has retained heidrick and struggles to help in this effort.

i will be participating in the search for my successor, and i will continue as ceo until the board selects a new ceo. once a successor is named, i will return to my previous role as chief yahoo and continue to serve as a director on the board.

last june, i accepted the board’s request that i assume the ceo role to restructure and reposition the company as a whole in order to more effectively meet the fast-changing needs of both users and partners. since taking on the ceo role, i have had an ongoing dialogue with the board about succession timing. thanks in large measure to your tireless efforts, we have created a more open, competitive yahoo! and we believe the time is now right to transition to a new ceo who can take the company to the next level.

despite the external environment we face, the fact remains that yahoo! is now a significantly different company that is stronger in many ways than it was just 18 months ago. this only makes it all the more essential that we manage this opportunity to leverage the progress up to this point as effectively as possible. i strongly believe that having transformed our platform and better aligned costs and revenues, we have a unique window for the right ceo to take ownership over the next wave of mission-critical decisions facing the company.

all of you know that I have always, and will always bleed purple. i will always do what I think is right for this great company. while this step will be an adjustment for all of us, i know it’s the right one. i look forward to updating you on this process as soon as the board has developments to share, and will continue to do everything i can to make yahoo! fulfill its full potential.

thank you,
jerry

[Valleywag] Jerry Yang’s memo to Yahoo staff on his exit

CEO is ousted from GGP

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:45:01 +0000

The CEO of Idiot Inc. real-estate superstar General Growth Properties, John Bucksbaum, has been ousted. This move comes just three weeks after GGP’s CFO was forced to resign because of margin calls on his stock. The company is struggling to find investors willing to pony up the $$$ to finance GGP’s $27 billion in debt. Good luck to the new CEO on that!

Resignations en masse at Cadence Design

Jacopo Kane — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:03:05 +0000

The CEO and four vice presidents have all resigned from Cadence Design Systems after a failed bid to buy competitor, Mentor Graphics. That’s not the only reason — the company’s stock has lost a healthy 75% this year.

Reuters: Cadence Design CEO resigns; shares fall

Talks between Boeing and striking machinists union break down

Jacopo Kane — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:10:44 +0000

Since Monday, there has been radio silence between Boeing and its striking machinists union reportedly because the union was asked to bargain away 2,000 jobs. The company meanwhile, is losing $100 million per day because of closed factories due to the strike.

The feds have attempted to mediate the discussion, but have had about as much success with this as they have with the bailout. No further meetings have been scheduled between the company and the union.

CNN Money: Boeing strike likely to run into November at least

Ford’s ex-CFO was pushed out by colleagues

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:39:32 +0000

The Wall St. Journal has sources “familiar with the matter” who claim that Ford’s ex-CFO, Don Leclair, was pushed out by other “high-level company officials.” According to the paper’s sources, at least two of these executives discussed resigning if Leclair was allowed to continue as the company’s CFO. The article is vague about the specific reasons — it only says that there was friction because:

“Mr. Leclair had been too forceful in pursuing his own agenda without informing other vice presidents in a timely way of his plans.”

Whatever that means…

The Wall Street Journal: Ford Friction Led to Leclair’s Exit

Citigroup lawyers up: sues Wachovia and Wells Fargo for $60 billion

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:01:07 +0000

Citigroup has filed a lawsuit in New York against Wachovia and Wells Fargo as it continues its fight to purchase Wachovia’s assets. Citigroup has asked for $20 billion in compensation and $40 billion in punitive damages. Yeah, right.

More info: Yahoo Finance

Wells Fargo and Citigroup battle over Wachovia’s corpse

Jacopo Kane — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:56:54 +0000

The feds have taken the reins in the sale of Wachovia to either Wells Fargo or Citigroup. Citi initially had a preliminary deal to buy Wachovia, but Wells Fargo punked them by announcing that it had reached an agreement to buy Wachovia without government aid.

Citigroup struck back in the courts, and initially won the right to negotiate for longer; this ruling was overturned today in a wind-sprint Court session.

Now the U.S. Federal Reserve is trying to broker a compromise between the companies and hopes that each will settle for a piece of the shattered Wachovia.

GGP takes Idiot Inc’s advice and fires CFO Bernard Freibaum

Jacopo Kane — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:20:42 +0000

General Growth Properties has just announced that its $30 million dollar man, Bernard Freibaum, has been replaced as the company’s CFO. This news comes one day after the stock fell apart when the Wall St. Journal reported Freibaum had sold $30 million worth of shares at the 52 week low. Of course, we’d reported on Bernard’s insider trading ten days before The Journal, but who’s counting? Good riddance.

Circuit City’s shoved-over Schoonover gets $1.8 million to leave

Jacopo Kane — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:28:33 +0000

Circuit City is ponying up a nice chunk of cash for departing CEO Philip Schoonover. The board was so displeased with his performance at the troubled Best-Buy competitor that it would rather pay his full year’s salary and a few more in benefits than keep him at the helm. At Circuit City, “involuntary termination without cause” is morse-code for a helluva payday. Congrats, Phil.

Get the full details from Yahoo Finance