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Directors & Boards
Robert H. Rock
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James Kristie
Editor
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Cody
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From Jim Kristie | Article of the
Month | Columnist
Reader Profile |
Research | News |
Doomed To Be an Oxymoron?
Don’t let the term ‘outstanding director’ meet that fate.
With publishing deadlines being what they are, I write this note the
day after the Enron verdict. It’s big headlines on this day, but with
the business world being what it is, it will be old news by the time
you read this.
Our e-Briefing readers had the Enron top dogs nailed way before the
jury rendered its decision. Our May newsletter’s Question of the Month
asked: “How Will the Jury Decide in the Case Against Jeffrey Skilling
and Kenneth Lay?” Your quickly entered verdict (a record number of
responses, I might add):
Guilty for Both 71.4%
Innocent for Both 7.1%
Split Decision 17.9%
Hung Jury 3.6%
Your add-on comments were well-stated, and I pass along a few below
that capture the tenor of the readership.
In reflecting on an Enron postmortem comment that I could make for this
e-Briefing, I’m struck with an observation that Mike Cook, president of
the Outstanding Directors Institute, made several weeks ago at the
organization’s annual awards dinner in New York.
“The term ‘outstanding director’ can’t become an oxymoron,” Cook warned
at the ceremony honoring this year’s designees. Highly regarded as a
director himself, Cook stirringly reaffirmed that accomplished, ethical
individuals are needed “for the future success of the capital markets.”
Amen to that. The Enron collapse was a catastrophe of board indecision.
But what has transpired since, now culminating with the Enron verdict,
may have put governance on a track that helps avoid the fate that Cook
and many other top-performing board members fear for the general
perception of this vital role.
Now for your selected comments:
• “As CEO and chair, they knew or should have known. They cannot claim
ignorance while holding the titles and collecting the paychecks that
mandate responsibility. If they are acquitted, the entire structure of
corporate accountability fails.”
• “It will be difficult for reasonable jury members to conclude that
the former CEOs were not knowledgeable of the ‘cooking the books’
activities of the CFO and his team. The prosecutor has demonstrated the
ethics lapses by both men regarding other issues. It is not difficult
to conclude other ethics violations occurred including misleading of
investors and analysts of the true financial condition of the
company.”
• “Disdain for ethical business practices will undermine any reasonable
defense based on ignorance of accounting.”
• “Having been an officer of a Fortune 500 publicly traded company, it
is impossible for me to believe that they did not know what Fastow was
doing, and if they did not, they should have. I am weary of CEOs and
boards taking credit in the good times and claiming they did not know
when things go south.”
Finally, as a former U.S. Navy serviceman myself, I heartily second
this reader response:
• “The Captain should always go down with his ship. If the jury finds
their excuses and blame of others acceptable for the colossal implosion
of Enron while under their control, it would be a miscarriage of
justice.”
Question of the Month
As we go to press, the probe into the backdating of stock option grants
is heating up. Is this a new scandal brewing? How worried are you about
the probe into the backdating of stock option grants?
Click here and
tell us in this month’s question.
___________________________________________________________
A big thank you to everyone who registered for and attended our first Directors & Boards webcast: "ERISA and Directors: What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You."
Our speakers were:
Wayne Miller, President, Denali
Fiduciary Management
Gerald Czarnecki, Director, State Farm Insurance Co.
Jeff Mamorsky, Chair of the ERISA department, Greenberg Traurig LLP
You can
view a replay of the webcast and download the slides by clicking here.
And thank you to our sponsors, Denali
Fiduciary Management, Greenberg Traurig LLP and Heidrick &
Struggles.
We'll be conducting more webcasts in
the future.
Jim
Kristie is the editor and
associate publisher of Directors
& Boards.
Peer
Evaluation: Take the PlungeYes, it’s sensitive, but the practice can provide great value to individual directors and the board as a whole.
By Robert C. Muschewske
Although the practice can take a variety of forms, most boards are
adhering to NYSE guidelines and are conducting an annual performance
evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the board. Few, however, are
venturing into the highly sensitive area of peer evaluation.
Those that take the risk and do so in a thoughtful and constructive
manner find that “seeing ourselves as others see us” can be a highly
productive process.
It is often said that the higher one goes in an organization, the less
direct performance-related feedback one receives. This is particularly
true in the often-rarified air of the boardroom, where direct feedback
is seen as either unnecessary or potentially destructive to the culture
of collegiality.
Yes, it is true that most board members are highly capable individuals
who are motivated to be as effective as they can be in exercising their
fiduciary responsibilities. Nevertheless, there are some board members
who have served past their time and should retire, and there are some
otherwise capable board members whose stellar performance is marred by
a few small things that interfere with their overall effectiveness.
On the other side of the coin, there are highly regarded board members
who need to be encouraged to play an even stronger role in board
deliberations.
[Click
Here to Read
the Entire Article]
Competing considerations make the decision to exit the SEC reporting system a difficult one for the board.
Today, approximately 9,000 companies file quarterly and annual reports with the SEC. Roughly 40% of these companies report annual revenues of less than $50 million. Dramatically increased compliance responsibilities, a more active enforcement agenda at the SEC and other government agencies, risks of stockholder litigation, and increased risks of personal liability complicate directors’ already complex and demanding duties. In addition, the out-of-pocket and other costs of being a public company, which already are significant, are continuing to grow, especially for smaller companies.
The burden of these costs may force them to cut back on areas -- such as research and development, expansion, and even dividends -- that produce direct benefits to their stockholders. Factor in the time and effort that managers must devote to meeting stockholders’ short-term expectations, and it is not surprising that many companies are looking for exits from the regulatory burdens imposed by the SEC and the SROs (NYSE, Nasdaq, and now Archipelago).
One exit that many companies are seriously considering is “going dark.”
[Click Here to Read the Entire Article]
Editor's note: B. Kenneth West
passed away recently. In his honor, we present an appreciation by
Don Delves and a brief piece by Ken from a past issue of Directors & Boards.
Remembering Ken West – In Gratitude and Deep Respect
By Don Delves
The corporate governance community lost one of its finest members with the recent passing of Ken West. As long-time Chairman of the NACD, Governance Consultant to TIAA-CREF, and board member, Ken fostered a tremendous amount of positive change in the operation and effectiveness of countless boards. He worked quietly, behind the scenes, gently wielding a big stick and systematically persuading wayward boards to adopt better practices. He did so as a gentleman and veteran business leader, talking to other business leaders about how they might operate with greater integrity and higher standards. Ken used his position as an extraordinarily well-liked and well-respected member of the director community to challenge that community--our community--to recognize our shortcomings and to be our best. He was also a mentor and advisor, encouraging many of us to take thoughtful, measured and sometimes risky stands for changes we thought were in the best interests of company and shareholders. We will miss Ken for his candor, his courage and his friendship.
Some Scenarios for Change...and a Wild Card
By B. Kenneth West
The corporate governance landscape has clearly changed for the better in the last quarter century. Led by institutional investors and (to a not inconsiderable extent) corporate gadflies, corporate boards have become more aware of and responsive to the concerns and rights of shareholders.
How will the landscape change in the next 25 years? Here are some possibilities, some more certain than others:
[Click Here to Read the Entire Article]
Booz Allen Hamilton Study Finds Governance ''Wave'' Led to Increased Ouster of Longstanding Underperforming CEOs
Global CEO departures reached record levels for the second year in a row, and may be peaking, according to the fifth annual survey of CEO turnover at the world's 2,500 largest publicly traded corporations by strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. The study also found that performance-related turnover set a new record in North America, and merger-driven successions were at their highest level globally of any year other than 2000.
Among the findings:
Globally, 15.3% of chief executives at the world's 2,500 largest public companies left office in 2005, a 4.1% increase from 2004, and 70% higher than 10 years before.
One-third of global CEO successions were performance-related, defined as where the CEO was forced to resign because of either poor performance or disagreements with the board. From 1995 to 2005, the departure of underperformers quadrupled. As a result, only 51% of outgoing CEOs globally left office voluntarily, with successions resulting from mergers comprising the difference.
Overall merger-driven turnover, reflecting the continuation of a new, robust cycle in M&A activity, was at its highest level globally of any year other than 2000, accounting for one in six of this year's departing CEOs. More than half of these departing CEOs moved on to a new company, into consulting, or retired. However, half of the survivors stayed on in a substantive operational role, while the rest served on the board of directors or as an internal consultant during the transition.
The study's results reveal that governance reforms are working. They are leading boards of directors to become more responsive to shareholder and regulatory pressure, and to be more proactive in ousting underperforming CEOs. "We believe the current annual rate of CEO turnover is the 'new normal'," notes Paul Kocourek, a Senior Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton. "Today's typical CEO knows that he will remain in office only as long as performance for investors is acceptable. The CEO's insider allies are typically gone, or less powerful. No longer can a CEO expect to prolong his career by managing the board."
The study provides insights on the effectiveness of the most popular CEO recruitment practices, revealing that one oft-employed strategy, hiring CEOs with prior Chief Executive experience, has been increasing. However, as the study found, these "repeat CEOs" perform no better than new, previously untested CEOs. "The message to boards is that the presumed benefits of previous experience as a CEO are a mirage," said Kocourek. "Chief executives are better served by experience in their own company, in the industry, or with the types of challenges confronting the company."
"Repeat chiefs" are increasingly common. More than one in eight of the CEOs who left office this year had previously served as leader of another company; increasingly, active CEOs are moving directly from one large company to another. But "repeat chiefs" perform no better than new, untested CEOs. This pattern has been the same in seven of the eight years Booz Allen has studied. "The challenge of leading an unfamiliar organization evidently more than offsets the benefits of having led a publicly traded company in the past," said Kocourek.
Outsider CEOs flame, then fizzle. During their first two years in office, CEOs brought in from outside the company produce returns for investors that are nearly four times better than those achieved by insiders. But when the tenure grows longer, insider CEOs tend to do much better. "Companies that hire outsiders should follow a 'five-year rule,' seeking a new CEO before performance declines," said Kocourek.
Hiring outsider CEOs often backfires for troubled companies. Looking back at the careers of the "class of 2005," those who had been hired from the outside had taken charge of companies with, on average, far worse performance records than those who had been promoted from within. In North America, for example, 29% of troubled companies had hired an outsider in the prior two years, compared with only 6% of companies with positive performance records.
Nonchairman CEOs are now the best performers. Of CEOs who left office in 2005, those who never served as chairman of their companies outperformed those who served in the dual role of chairman and chief. In North America over the last three years, departing nonchairman CEOs had produced shareholder returns three times as high as those of CEO/chairmen.
The former CEO should not remain as chairman. CEOs who serve in the "apprenticeship model," in which the chairman is their predecessor, generally do poorly. For example, in Europe over the last four years, "apprentice" CEOs produced annual shareholder returns five percentage points lower than the returns achieved by departing CEOs who had the advantage of working with a separate and independent chairman.
Methodology
Booz Allen studied the 383 CEOs of the world's largest 2,500 publicly traded corporations defined by market capitalization who left office in 2005, and evaluated both the performance of their companies and the events surrounding their departures. To provide historical context, Booz Allen evaluated and compared this data to information on CEO departures for 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. For more information, visit http://www.boozallen.com.
June 6,
2006
Boardroom Consultants, Pace Law School, the NACD, TIAA-CREF, and the
Business Roundtable will co-sponsor "The Fourth Annual Institute on
Board/Committee Independence and Effectiveness" in New York City at
TIAA-CREF headquarters, 730 Third Avenue, 17th Floor, from 8 a.m to
4:30 p.m. Taking a "practitioners" approach, the sessions bring
together corporate directors in a forum where they can candidly assess
what is really happening in boardrooms and share ideas and best
practices. Most panelists are CEOs and directors who offer proven
solutions for effectively carrying on the most important work of their
boards. Other perspectives are added by shareholders and a small group
of widely recognized board advisers. Attendees have the opportunity to
discuss issues of their choosing during both breakout and "open mike"
sessions. This year's keynote speaker and honoree is Franklin Thomas,
former president of the Ford Foundation and multiple board director.
For further information, call 212-328-0440.
June 7-8,
2006
The Outstanding Directors Institute will conduct a West Coast session
of its program that recognizes top performers at the board level.
Planned sessions include “Managing the CEO/Board Relationship,” “The
New Basics of the Executive Session,” “Aiming for Seamlessness in CEO
Succession Planning,” and other topics. The event will be held at the
St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. Call 212-542-1224 to register or
visit
June
11-14, 2006
The National Investor Relations Institute is holding its annual
conference in San Diego. Featured speakers include Paul Jacobs, CEO of
Qualcomm Inc.; Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision Inc.; Jerry Putnam,
Co-COO of NYSE Group Inc.; Dianne Neal, EVP and CFO of Reynolds
American Inc.; and Matthew Paull, CFO of McDonald's Corp. For
additional conference information, visit
June
12-13, 2006
The Yale Governance Forum will convene its inaugural meeting. To be
held at Yale Law School, the Forum participants will examine in deep
discussions the responsibilities of shareholders and the performance of
proxy advisory services, and will be introduced to the newly formed
Yale Center for Corporate Governance and Performance. For further
information, call 404-760-8174.
June
12-14, 2006
The Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit will be held in
Philadelphia. Entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists, and technology
professionals from for-profit and nonprofit organizations will gather
to exchange ideas and create a framework for understanding how the
Creative Economy contributes to the economic future of the world. For
the full itinerary, visit
June 13,
2006
The Tenth Annual Wharton Leadership Conference's theme is "Leading with
Resilience: Coming Back from Challenge and Adversity." Under the
direction of Wharton professors Peter Cappelli and Michael Useem,
presenters at the intensive, one-day conference will draw upon their
experiences in leading an organization through uncertain periods.
Speakers include Jim Collins, author of "Built to Last"; David
Pottruck, former CEO of Charles Schwab; Peter Dawkins, vice chair of
Citigroup Private Bank; Sylvia Montero, Pfizer's SVP of human
resources, and Thomas Stewart, editor of the Harvard Business Review.
See
June
14-15, 2006
The Conference Board Directors' Institute will hold its Directors'
Roundtable Forum, a day and a half series of roundtable discussions on
key corporate governance issues in a highly interactive format. Topics
include fiduciary/legal update, effective board organization, audit
committee issues, enterprise risk and compensation committee
effectiveness, and other "red flag" matters. For information, visit
June
20-21, 2006
KPMG's Audit Committee Institute and the National Association of
Corporate Directors present "Audit Committee Fundamentals," an
educational program for audit committee members and directors, both new
and experienced, who want to enhance their understanding of audit
committee responsibilities and activities. Visit
June
21-22, 2006
The Conference Board 2006 Business and Sustainable Development
Conference will be held at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Senior executives from all functions and industries of major worldwide
organizations will meet to examine "Managing for Economic,
Environmental and Social Value in the Global Marketplace." The meeting
is co-presented with the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development. A copy of the program is available on the Conference
Board's website,
June
22-23, 2006
The Fortune Boardroom Forum will conduct "Strategy, the Board, and the
CEO," a program to be held in Chicago that will explore such topics as
assessing board and CEO performance, best practices for board-CEO
collaboration on strategy, building a leadership pipeline, and the
board's role in M&A. Participation is by invitation and limited to
chairmen, directors, CEOs, CFOs, and other members of senior management
at America's top companies. For more information call 212-522-5826 or
visit
June
25-27, 2006
Harvard Business School's Corporate Governance Series presents "Audit
Committees in a New Era of Governance," a program that will prepare
audit committee chairs and members, as well as the CFOs working with
them, to operate successfully amid new regulations and emerging
governance trends. Faculty chair is HBS Professor Jay Lorsch, and the
program will be held on the HBS campus. For further information, visit
June
25-27, 2006
Stanford Law School conducts its 12th Annual Directors' College, an
intensive two-day program for directors and senior executives of
publicly traded corporations. Among the sessions will be a focus on
"Strategy and the Board," "The Best and Worst Ideas in Corporate
Governance," "Crisis Planning and Control," and "The Internet,
Disclosure and the Future of Governance." Keynote speakers include SEC
Chairman Christopher Cox and former Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO
Carly Fiorina. Register at
June
26-27, 2006
On Board Bootcamp puts on “Would you like to become a Corporate
Director?” -- an insider’s guide on how to be selected and an
introduction to experienced directors and search executives who will
share with you “lessons learned” along the way. Susan Stautberg,
president of PartnerCom Corp., which creates and manages advisory
boards and conducts corporate director searches, has partnered with
Carolyn Chin, a board chair and director of five companies, to launch
On Board Bootcamp. This seminar is designed to benefit those who: are
already on a nonprofit or small company board and would like to be
selected by a larger one; are about to become a board member; would
like to be selected for a board; would like to establish an action plan
for getting on boards in the future. For a brochure and more
information contact
June
27-29, 2006
Harvard Business School's Corporate Governance Series presents
"Compensation Committees: New Challenges, New Solutions," a program
that will help compensation committee chairs and members determine the
extent to which their own board's compensation plans need rebuilding
and to rethink their respective committee charters. Faculty chair is
HBS Professor Jay Lorsch, and the program will be held on the HBS
campus. For further information, visit
July 1-2,
2006
The Yale CEO Leadership Summit will be held on the Yale campus in New
Haven, Conn. Under the direction of Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder
and CEO of The Chief Executive Leadership Institute of the Yale School
of Management, the institute, which calls itself the nation's first
"CEO College," brings together hundreds of CEOs and other business and
market leaders for peer-driven educational programs. For more
information, visit
July
16-19, 2006
Harvard Business School's Corporate Governance Series presents "Making
Corporate Boards More Effective," a program that concentrates on
cutting-edge techniques, strategies and action plans for improving
board design, maximizing individual contributions to company boards,
and improving corporate governance. Faculty chair is HBS Professor Jay
Lorsch, and the program will be held on the HBS campus. For further
information, visit
October
15-17, 2006
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) holds its 2006
Annual Corporate Governance Conference. Themed "The Board Agenda:
Driving Long-Term Value," the program will cover the evolving best
practices in board oversight of executive compensation, strategy
development, succession planning, board evaluation, and the results of
the NACD's 2006 Blue Ribbon Commission on "Board Practices in
High-Performing Companies." The conference will be held at the
Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. For registration and
hotel information (last year's conference sold out) call 202-775-0509,
or visit
November
2-3, 2006
The University of Wisconsin-Madison presents its Directors' Summit.
This ISS- and NACD-accredited event freatures keynote speakers John
Morgridge, Chairman of Cisco Systems and Tom Stemberg, founder of
Staples, as well as panel discussions on a variety of topics. For more
information and to register, visit
The 2006 University of Delaware Directors' College will convene at the university's John M. Clayton Hall Conference Center in Newark, Del. Topics to be tackled include: How can directors effectively oversee executive compensation? How do your board activities compare to others? Where will the regulators focus next? And, what can directors do to protect themselves legally? The program is hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the University's Lerner College of Business and Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance. To learn more about the program, visit this site.
Directors & Boards' next Boardroom Briefing takes an in-depth look at how technology is affecting the way boards communicate. The Wired Board features new research on how directorsa use technology now, as well as a variety of articles and thought-leadership pieces. The Wired Board will mail later this month. To see and download our past Boardroom Briefings, click here.
Avian Flu Epidemic: How Prepared Are You?
An avian flu pandemic, which would unleash disaster across many areas of the world, requires global, holistic planning by companies, according to a new report from The Conference Board, the global research and business membership group. Companies failing to create detailed crisis management and business continuity plans are likely to find themselves at peril.
The avian flu virus, which has spread rapidly in wild-bird and fowl populations through Asia, Europe and Africa, has killed about half the people who have contracted the virus from birds. While the timing and severity of a worldwide pandemic are difficult to predict, the report warns that “to gamble that it won’t happen or its impact will be minimal could prove catastrophic for businesses.” Responding to a flu pandemic requires a different kind of business response than natural disasters and other crises. “Unlike most business continuity planning efforts, coping with a pandemic requires a more holistic response,” says Ellen Hexter, Director of The Conference Board Integrated Risk Management Program and author of the report. “Most crisis management and business continuity plans are built on the expectation of loss of infrastructure or data, for example. An avian flu pandemic would be nearly the opposite, impacting the workforce in one’s own company and throughout the supply chain.”
For more information on avian flu preparedness, click here for additional insights from the Conference Board report, or visit
http://www.conference-board.org/knowledge/resources/resource_avianFlu.cfm.
KPMG Offers a New Resource for Audit Committees
To help keep up with the latest news and trends affecting audit committee members and corporate officers of global organizations, KPMG produces Audit Committee Insights, a biweekly e-mail alert. The U.S. edition has been published for nearly two years and reaches 12,000 readers every two weeks. Now there is a new edition, with content sourced from KPMG member firms in Canada, Great Britain, Brazil, India, and several other countries. There is no cost for either edition. To see a sample of the new international edition, click here.
http://www.kpmginsights.com/images/aci/ACI_International_Example.htm
To register for a free subscription to the new international edition or for the U.S. edition, click here.
http://www.kpmginsights.com/registration/registration.asp?fromWhere=2
New Edition Published of a Popular Governance Guide
Perkins Coie today announced the release of the third edition of its popular guide to corporate governance issues, "The Public Company Handbook: A Corporate Governance and Disclosure Guide for Directors and Executives." The book provides an overview of important legal matters relevant to directors and executives at public companies. Easily accessible, even for those who do not have a legal background, it provides information and practical guidance on regulatory issues in plain language. This 329-page soft-cover book includes graphics and highlighted tips throughout for easier reading. Some of the issues covered in the book include Sarbanes-Oxley, what it means to be a public company, reporting obligations, insider trading restrictions, annual reports, and NYSE listing standards.
The book was printed and published by Bowne & Co., and is part of Bowne's SecuritiesConnect Library. Complimentary soft copies of The Public Company Handbook (Third Edition) can be downloaded or hard copies can be requested at http://www.bowne.com/bsc. Perkins Coie serves companies ranging in size from the Fortune 100 to startups. The firm has more than 600 attorneys in 14 offices across the United States and in China, and has historically represented market leaders in traditional and cutting-edge technology industries.
Enhanced Resource for Nonprofit Governance Info
BoardSource, a source for nonprofit governance information, unveiled its new Web site at http://www.boardsource.org. Among the features the new Web site offers include more than 1,000 pages of content, including solutions to common board challenges, briefings on board member roles and responsibilities, overviews of new thinking in the field of governance, and updates on transparency and accountability issues. A full-service online bookstore offers more than 90 books, online tools, and DVDs.
ISS Ratings Now Available from Bloomberg
Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) corporate governance ratings are now accessible via the Bloomberg Professional service. Bloomberg users will be able to access free of charge ISS' Corporate Governance Quotient (CGQ) Index score, CGQ Industry score, board, audit, compensation, and takeover defense sub-scores and six months of historical data for all 8,000 companies in the database. Initially launched in June 2002, ISS' CGQ was designed to assist institutional investors in evaluating the quality of corporate boards and the impact governance practices may have on portfolio performance.
NACD Releases Compensation Report
The National Association of Corporate Directors has released its 2006 NACD Director Compensation Report for directors and boards to use in benchmarking their own pay practices by company revenue, industry, and key committee. The report is available for purchase at http://www.nacdonline.org. NACD members may also download a complimentary electronic copy of the report.
Based on 2005 data and analysis from the compensation consulting firm of Pearl Meyer & Partners, the report provides timely information for boards as they re-evaluate their pay plans in the context of increased director responsibilities. Benchmarking data is provided in four revenue categories ranging from $50 million up to $9 billion. Data from each category is also compared with the Top 200 companies, defined as the 200 largest U.S. industrial and service corporations whose director pay practices are tracked annually by Pearl Meyer & Partners.
New Resource for Troubled Companies
Grant Thornton LLP (http://www.grantthornton.com) has launched a Recovery and Reorganization services practice that will provide professional services to underperforming and financially troubled businesses and their stakeholders. The firm named nationally recognized reorganization industry professionals Marti Kopacz and Loretta Cross to lead the practice. Kopacz and Cross have worked together for more than 10 years, and each brings more than two decades of experience in the reorganization industry.
“Our new Recovery and Reorganization practice will allow us to take a leadership role in this highly fragmented industry, says Grant Thornton CEO Ed Nusbaum. “This new service line makes a strong addition to our firm’s existing Specialist Financial Services offerings and represents an eagerly anticipated first step in building a comprehensive national presence that complements our international depth in recovery and reorganization expertise.”
Author Notes
Robert M. Price, former CEO of Control Data Corp., was presented with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May. Awarded annually to outstanding American citizens from all walks of life who have distinguished themselves through their significant contributions to this country, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor is ranked among the nation's most prestigious awards. Directors & Boards will publish an excerpt from Price’s recently published book from Yale University Press, "The Eye for Innovation: Recognizing Possibilities and Managing the Creative Enterprise," in the Third Quarter edition which will be mailed in July. Price (http://bobprice.net) is also the founder and chairman of The National Center for Social Entrepreneurs.
AlixPartners is serving as the restructuring adviser to Silicon Graphics Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 in May. Silicon Graphics is a leader in high-performance computing. AlixPartners, whose principals have authored a number of advisories on crisis management for Directors & Boards, also has opened a Paris office, initially with a team of 15 people and managed by Yahya Daraaoui, Eric Bernardini, and Laurent Petizon.
Ben Dattner of Dattner Consulting (http://dattnerconsulting.com) hosted a conference call on “How to Deal with a Narcissistic Boss from Hell.” In the call he explored the impact such executives have on decision making, communication and feedback, team dynamics, organizational culture, motivation and incentives, and retention and succession planning. Proactive strategies for how to deal with a narcissistic boss were also provided. Dr. Dattner reviewed the book, "The Productive Narcissist," by Michael Macoby, in the Third Quarter 2003 issue of Directors & Boards.
Dorothy Adams, head of Capital Value (http://www.capitalval.com), was a guest on an Internet radio broadcast that dealt with “What’s Working Now,” the findings from her extensive research on boards of private equity-backed companies and how these companies are and should be governed. Adams authored “An Inside Peek at PE-Backed Companies” for the Fourth Quarter 2005 D&B.
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Directors & Boards e-Briefing is a monthly service of Directors & Boards. All contents copyright 2006, MLR Holdings LLC.