|
 |
 |
Are you reading a pass along copy? Get
your
own FREE subscription. To unsubscribe, please click HERE
and send a blank email. You will be automatically unsubscribed.
Directors & Boards
Robert H. Rock
Publisher
James Kristie
Editor
Lisa
Cody
Chief Financial Officer
David Shaw
Publishing Director
Scott Chase
Advertising Sales Director
Nancy Maynard
Account Executive
Barbara Wenger
Subscriptions
Jerri Smith
Reprints
1845 Walnut Street
Suite 900
Philadelphia, PA 19103
+1 (215) 567-3200
The Directors & Boards e-Briefing is produced by GRID Media LLC.
From Jim Kristie | Article of the
Month | Columnist
Reader Profile |
Research | News |
The Unruly Mind of the Market
The shock to the system in August prompts
a referential reading of ‘Conventional Wisdom Codification.’
Amidst the tumult in the financial markets last month, I slipped away
for a brief vacation. I went to Boston to take in the Edward Hopper
retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts — well worth a visit when the
exhibit moves to Washington’s National Gallery
of Art in mid-September.
As much as I tried to extricate myself from the grid while I was away —
no accessing voicemail or email — I did flick on CNBC in the hotel room
to monitor what seemed like a meltdown in dicey sectors of the market.
But I suspect that in many boardrooms it was business as normal. For a
company with a solid balance sheet, a substantial book of business, and
salubrious prospects for the future, what’s to worry — barring an utter
implosion, that is?
In times of market upheaval, I default to my many years as a member of
the Certified Financial Analysts Society and the exposure to sound
investment strategies and strategists that comes with such membership.
Back in 1978, the organization’s Financial
Analysts Journal published “Conventional Wisdom Codification” —
a brilliant, witty collection of some 250 verities in market
operations.
August’s action impelled me to dig a dog-eared copy out of my archives.
It was tough to cull this compendium for a few entries pertinent to the
kind of spasm we experienced last month, but here is a baker’s dozen of
my favorites that do so:
• More stocks double than go to zero.
• Price wars get worse than you think.
• If anybody really knew, they wouldn’t tell you.
• You never understand a stock until you’re long or short.
• Don’t apologize for acting on your instincts if you’ve spent years
developing them.
• An outstanding portfolio always contains an outstanding stock.
• The bottom is always 10 percent below your worst-case expectation.
• If you can figure out who will get the cash inflow in a cycle, you’ve
got that cycle beaten.
• You might be right about where the market or a stock is going, but
you can’t possibly predict where it will go after that.
• Sell the stock when the CEO doesn’t return your call.
• When everybody likes a stock, it must go down; when nobody likes a
stock, it may go up.
• Price is a fundamental — it’s the only thing for sure you know about
a stock.
• Risk is what’s left over after the bad news hits.
The “Codification” doesn’t address anything specific to a board of
directors. That’s not surprising, considering the year of issue — 1978
— when corporate governance was hardly a term in the popular lexicon.
But certainly one essential role for the board in times of extreme
market distress is to be a rock of stability for management. So let me
suggest a principle of my own to add to the conventional wisdom
collection:
• An ‘investment grade’ board
may help keep you investment grade.
I’ll check with my colleagues at the CFA Institute to make sure it’s
okay to share it, but if you’d like a copy of “Conventional Wisdom
Codification,” email me your fax number at jkristie@directorsandboards.com.
Jim Kristie is the editor and associate publisher of Directors & Boards.
The D&O Insurance Market Is SoftWhat you can do to take advantage of changing market conditions.
By Stephen J. Weiss and Thomas H. Bentz Jr.
Good news for policyholders -- nearly everyone in the D&O insurance business agrees that the market is soft. Premiums are down, capacity is up, and terms and conditions continue to improve. In short, it’s a buyer’s market.
What does this mean for you? It means that you have a long-awaited opportunity to obtain meaningful improvements to your D&O insurance protection. Unfortunately, many of these improvements won’t happen automatically, so here are a few tips to help make the most of the soft D&O insurance market.
1. Start the Renewal Process Early
To take full advantage of today’s market conditions, start the renewal process early. Probably the first decision you need to make is whether you should try to obtain alternative quotes or renew with the incumbent with terms and conditions “as expiring.” Alternative quotes can be quite useful even if you do not intend to change insurers. Competition can provide a check on pricing as well as terms and conditions.
To obtain quotes, you may be required to complete multiple policy applications. The sooner you complete the applications, the sooner you can obtain quotes and the more time you will have to compare alternatives and make decisions about which insurer offers the best coverage for your premium dollar. Starting early is especially important in a soft market as insurers introduce new policies and/or change terms and conditions to compete for your business. You will likely need extra time to consider your alternatives.
A late start in the renewal process (especially for larger D&O programs) can leave you without sufficient time to consider the coverage implications of using one insurer versus another. Making a switch to save 10 percent in insurance premiums may sound like a good idea unless it turns out that the switch costs you $10 million or more because the new policy cuts back on coverage by using a broader exclusion.
[Click
Here to Read
the Entire Article]
Bring Shareholders ‘Under the Tent’
Think about ways to deactivate your activist investors that go well beyond the obligatory and ceremonial.
By Constance R. Dierickx
Recently, a board chairman repeated a Lyndon Johnson quote to me: “It’s better to have your enemies inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.”
The chairman was referring to the manner in which he handles a challenging relationship with a particular group of shareholders. Though he cited the quote, he does not actually see shareholders as “the enemy.” The quote is a reminder to himself that the shortest trip to an adversarial relationship is to see shareholders as a needless bother.
Any director can tell you that dissident shareholders are not new. However, turmoil at prominent companies like Home Depot and many others shows that major investors are voicing their dissent more forcefully than ever before. When these shareholder disputes take place on the public stage — amplified by blogs and backed by hedge fund money — a company can sustain significant damage to its reputation, not to mention its stock price.
[Click Here to Read the Entire Article]
Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board
Fuel Outdoor Holdings LLC
Editor's note: Each month, we ask a
Directors & Boards reader to comment on critical issues facing
directors today. If you'd like to participate in this section in
the future, please email Scott
Chase.
For Fuel Outdoor, and for all companies, what is corporate governance?
Simply put, for Fuel Outdoor and any major company, corporate governance is leadership. Governance matters are usually set forth in the articles of incorporation, or the LLC or Operating Agreements, and lay out the rules of the road between the Shareholders, Partners, or members as the case may be, and the management of the company.
In your past experience, how important has corporate governance been to the strength of the company you are working with?
In the long term, corporate governance is an extremely important part of a company’s overall success or failure. Ethical managers executing a business plan, with a strong understanding of management’s relationship with its owners, ensures an effective balance of power between the interests of the various constituencies (owners, management, customers, suppliers and employees) that enables a corporation to survive.
[Click Here to Read the Entire Article]
Survey Pinpoints Private Equity Challenges; Risk to Stakeholders High
As merger and acquisition (M&A) activity continues at record levels, more than one-third (35 percent) of middle-market executives surveyed in New Jersey believe current due diligence processes in the M&A marketplace are inadequate. Further, more than three quarters of respondents agree that while private equity continues to flood the market, investor demand is heavily compromising the quality of due diligence.
This and other executive concerns in the M&A market were revealed as part of research commissioned by J.H. Cohn. According to the study, almost two-thirds of executives believe that poor due diligence is to blame for the fact that 78 percent of mergers and acquisitions fall apart within three years. Among the industries they believe are most severely impacted, executives predict that the financial services, software and technology sectors will suffer. Respondents also noted the size of the transaction is also a major factor when it comes to overall quality due diligence.
“Executives are clearly dissatisfied with current due diligence and the fact that there are an alarming number of deals failing to generate their intended value proves the urgent need to fix the process,” said Steven Pinsky, J.H. Cohn Private Equity Services Practice Leader. “Mid-level professionals assessing potential private equity deals are overwhelmed and often ill-equipped to be as exhaustive in the process as necessary, many times focusing on the wrong areas. To combat the problem, we need to implement a market-wide focus on education that will help to reverse the trend and provide greater return for executives and the companies they serve.”
Executives believe part of the problem could be the fact that professionals are not placing enough – or in some cases too much - emphasis on the appropriate areas of due diligence. For instance, they find there is too much focus on financial modeling, sales forecasting, financial performance and valuation. Conversely, they believe there should be more focus on tangible and intangible assets, tax planning strategy and management assessment.
About J.H. Cohn
J.H. Cohn is one of the top 20 accounting and consulting firms in the United States, and the largest headquartered in New Jersey. The firm, recently named one of the “Best Places to Work in New Jersey” by NJBiz magazine, has earned a strong reputation for its industry specialization and ability to help clients drive profits and increase wealth by providing custom solutions. J.H. Cohn professionals are passionate about providing personalized and attentive service, the success of their clients and staff, and their role as community leaders. More information about J.H. Cohn can be found at www.jhcohn.com.
About the Survey
The research was conducted independently on behalf of J.H. Cohn, in association with the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), at the third-annual Due Diligence Symposium. J.H. Cohn polled nearly 100 middle-market financial executives from the Northeast in attendance. The polling took place in April 2007. Surveys were conducted online and in person.
September
9-11, 2007
The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) holds its 6th
Annual Compliance & Ethics Institute in New Orleans. The SCCE
champions ethical practice and compliance standards in all
organizations and provides the necessary resources for compliance
professionals and others who share its principles. Experts from major
corporations, ethics organizations, law firms, academia, and the
government will address the most challenging issues related to
designing, implementing and managing effective compliance and ethics
programs. For more information, visit
September
18-19, 2007
On Board Bootcamp, hosted by Susan Stautberg and Carolyn Chin in New
York City, provides an insiders guide on how to be selected as a
Corporate Director and introduces you to experienced directors and
search executives who will share with you "lessons learned" along the
way. To register, contact Vaiva Razgaitis at partcom@verizon.net or
call 212-987-6070. For more information, visit
September
19-20, 2007
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center will host
the 2007 Global Corporate Citizenship Conference in Washington D.C. The
event will be held at the chamber's offices and also the headquarters
of the World Bank. The conference will bring together business leaders
from across the country to discuss how to advance global development
through corporate citizenship initiatives. Register at
September
20, 2007
Boardroom Consultants will present its Fifth Annual Institute on Board
Committee Independence and Effectiveness at TIAA-CREF headquarters in
New York. This year's theme is "Corporate Decision Making: Who's in
Charge - the CEO, the Board, or Shareholders? Implications for Risk
Taking and Innovation." Led by Roger Kenny, the firm's managing
partner, the day will include 20 governance experts on panels that will
address "The Democratization of the Governance Function," "Setting the
Priorities of the Board," "Director Skill Sets; How the Model is
Changing," and other topics. For information, call 212-328-0440 or
visit
September
24, 2007
The Practicing Law Institute holds its Fifth Annual Directors'
Institute on Corporate Governance at the PLI New York Center. Program
topics include "Executive Compensation," "Access to the Boardroom,"
"Hedge Fund 101 for Directors," and "Dealing with Board Dysfunction and
Crisis." Catherine Kinney, president and co-COO of NYSE Euronext, will
give a luncheon keynote on "The Challenge of Global Governance."
Program chairs are Ira Millstein, Richard Koppes, and Kayla Gillan. For
more information, visit
September
27-28, 2007
The Boardology Institute presents Boardology 400, the Pipeline Seminar,
at the Crowe Chizek Corporate Headquarters, Oakbrook, IL. The seminar
is designed to jump-start prospective candidates' preparation for
corporate board service and equip them with tools and insights to
conduct successful Board Appointment Campaigns as well as pre-quality
them for the Boardroom Bound Referral Service. To register, visit
September
30 - October 5, 2007
Harvard Business School presents a new executive education program,
"Launching New Ventures: Jump-Starting Innovation for Entrepreneurs and
Business Owners." The program will prepare executives to start and
build successful new ventures in today's complex and rapidly changing
business environment. It will take place on the school's Boston campus.
The program is designed for executives who are leading a new venture or
developing the capabilities needed for successful innovation in their
small to midsize companies. The curriculum is built around cases and
tutorials that examine the challenges and risks associated with
launching a start-up. The program will also focus on the organizational
capabilities needed to launch and grow a new business and analyzing and
prioritizing ideas and determining the size and viability of
opportunities. For more information or to apply online, visit
October
1, 2007
The New York Stock Exchange and Corporate Board Member magazine host
"The Board Committee Peer Exchange," a session designed to provide
information exchange for board committee chairmen and general counsel.
For information contact jtassa@boardmember.com or call 615-309-3247.
October
3-4, 2007
Ethical Corporation Conferences will host leading figures from
throughout corporate Europe to discuss corporate corruption at "The
Anti-Corruption Summit." To be held in Amsterdam, the event will
address where the new emerging risks are and how to come to grips with
existing ones; how to deliver more effective and leaner compliance; the
latest tactics and technologies to deliver a powerful ethics and
compliance culture; and the value of reputation and what it means for
winning more business. For more information go to
October
9, 2007
TheCorporateCounsel.net will hold a conference on "Tackling Your 2008
Compensation Disclosures: The 2nd Annual Proxy Disclosure Conference"
in San Francisco and via video webcast to anlyse the latest trends and
expectations from the SEC regardin the SEC's new executive compensation
rules. Visit
October
9-10, 2007
The Rice University/Fulbright & Jaworski LLP Corporate Directors'
Institute will host the inaugural Energy Industry Board Conference.
Board members from companies spanning the energy sector will have the
opportunity to participate in discussions led by industry leaders,
experts and distinguished scholars about challenges and issues facing
board members of energy and chemical companies. Among the topics that
will be covered in the two-day conference to be held on the Rice campus
in Houston are: strategic planning in the energy industry - the proper
relationship between the board and management; accounting hot topics in
the energy industry; and the board's evolving role in environmental,
health and safety oversight. To register, visit
October
9-12, 2007
Stanford Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School present
the Stanford Directors' Forum, a program for learning new management
strategies, leadership skills, and governance best practices from the
distinguished faculty of the two schools and key business leaders. Key
topics include building effective boards, evaluating proposed financial
transactions and policy, oversight of financial reporting and
communicating to shareholders, and evaluating corporate strategy. Visit
October
10-12, 2007
The National Association of Stock Plan Professionals will hold its 15th
Annual Conference in San Francisco. Over 45 panels will discuss all the
latest on employee benefits and compensation trends and practices.
Visit
October
11, 2007
CompensationStandards.com will hold its 4th Annual Executive
Compensation Conference in San Francisco and via video webcast to
provide practical guidance on the latest tools and methods that boards
are using to implement responsible CEO pay practices. Visit
October
11-12, 2007
The Boardology Institute presents Boardology 400, the Pipeline Seminar,
at the John Cook School of Business, St. Louis University. The seminar
is designed to jump-start prospective candidates' preparation for
corporate board service and equip them with tools and insights to
conduct successful Board Appointment Campaigns as well as pre-qualify
them for the Boardroom Bound Referral Service. To register, visit
October
14-16, 2007
The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) holds its 2007
Annual Corporate Governance Conference. This year's theme is "The
Empowered Board: Taking Charge in an Era of Accountability." The
program will cover such topics as majority voting and director
nominations, shareholder advisory votes, impact of private equity,
director liability, and risk oversight, as well as the latest key
recommendations of the NACD's Blue Ribbon Commission on the Governance
Committee. Awards will be given for Public Company Director of the
Year, Private Company Director of the Year, Not-for-Profit Director of
the Year, and the B. Kenneth West Lifetime Achievement Award. The
conference will be held at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C.
For registration and hotel information (last year's conference sold
out) call 202-775-0509, or visit
October
15, 2007
Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics hosts the Senior
Leadership Team Ethics Seminar, a forum for senior executives to share
best practices and best thinking regarding ethics. Held in Washington,
D.C., the half-day session is led by the Institute's instructors who
are faculty at top business schools. This program is for chief ethics
officers, chief financial officers, and other C-level executives, as
well as vice presidents, general counsels, corporate secretaries, and
members of the board of directors. Issues addressed include how to:
build and strengthen an ethical culture; develop a strategic,
enterprise approach to ethics; foster trust among your firm's
stakeholders; and identify issues your firm is likely to face in the
next 5-10 years. More information can be found at:
October
16-18, 2007
The Caux Round Table (CRT) hosts its 22nd Annual Global Dialogue in
Seattle. The CRT is an international network working to promote a
better world through principled business leadership. Dialogue sessions
at the event will include "Board Stewardship," "Courageous Business
Leaders," "If You Can't Manage," "A Principled Approach to Executive
Compensation," "Moral Duties Toward Employees," "The Changing Face of
Business and the World," and "Business as a Solution: Global Warming
and Other Challenges." For further information, contact conference
organizer Rob Lattin at cauxroundtable@aol.com, 651-265-2763 or visit
October
23-24, 2007
Outstanding Directors Exchange (ODX) and Columbia Business School hold
an ODX Chicago session for a series of panels on key issues in
corporate governance. For information, visit
October
25-26, 2007
The Boardology Institute presents Boardology 400, the Pipeline Seminar,
at the Law Offices of Foley & Lardner, LLP, Los Angeles, CA. The
seminar is designed to jump-start prospective candidates' preparation
for corporate board service and equip them with tools and insights to
conduct successful Board Appointment Campaigns as well as pre-qualify
them for the Boardroom Bound Referral Service. To register, visit
October
26-27, 2007
The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Inc.'s Fall
Consortium 2007 will focus on "Enabling Innovation in Organizations:
The Leading Edge." Held in Kansas City, the event is keynoted by Ed
Lawler, director of the Center for Effective Organizations and
Distinguished Professor of Business at the University of Southern
California. For more information, visit
October
29-30, 2007
The UC Berkeley-Deloitte Consulting LLP Director's IT Forum presents
"IT Strategy and Risk Management." Positioned as a first-of-its-kind
executive program for board directors on the strategic, risk
management, and governance implications of information technology, the
event will be held at the UC Berkeley Center for Executive Development
at the Haas School of Business. Registration is limited to 50
participants. Visit
October
29-31, 2007
The American Strategic Management Institute is holding its Annual
Performance Conference in Las Vegas. Each year the conference attracts
over 200 C-level executives, directors and analysts from across the
nation in pursuit of best practices and latest innovations in
performance management, business processes, financial performance and
human resource development. For additional information, visit
November
7-9, 2007
The Global Capital Markets Center at Duke University hosts the Sixth
Annual Duke Directors' Education Institute, an ISS-accredited intensive
program that addresses recent developments in corporate governance.
Topics to be discussed include "CEO and CFO Retention and Succession,"
"Current Issues in Executive Compensation," "Can Boards Handle both
Their Strategic and Compliance Duties?" and "What Directors Must Know
About Financial Reporting." Speakers include Steve Miller, chairman and
former CEO of Delphi Corp., Chuck Noski, director of Microsoft and
Morgan Stanley, and Leo Strine Jr., vice chancellor of the Delaware
Court of Chancery. For additional information, call 919-613-7260 or
visit
November
8-9, 2007
The Boardology Institute presents Boardology 400, the Pipeline Seminar,
in San Francisco. The seminar is designed to jump-start prospective
candidates' preparation for corporate board service and equip them with
tools and insights to conduct successful Board Appointment Campaigns as
well as pre-qualify them for the Boardroom Bound Referral Service. For
location and to register, visit
November
14-16, 2007
The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business will hold its
Seventh Annual Director's Summit. Sessions include "New Board Member
Orientation," "Mutual Fund Governance Issues," "Compensatuion Committee
Issues," and "Board Oversight of the CEO." Speakers include Tom Falk,
chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark Corp., Beverly Behan, managing
director, Board Effectiveness Practice, Hay Group, and Sharon Allen,
chairman of the board, Deloitte & Touches USA LLP. To register,
visit
November
27, 2007
The Women Corporate Directors Mini-Conference will be held from
2:00-9:00 pm at KPMG Headquarters in New York City to share
perspectives on corporate governance and discuss the significant issues
being raised today by corporate boards, regulatory agencies and the
courts. For more information, contact Vaiva Razgaitis at
partcom@verizon.net.
Outstanding Directors Exchange (ODX) and Columbia Business School hold an ODX New York session for a series of panels on key issue in corporate governance. For information, visit
One of the largest-ever studies of mergers and acquisitions, conducted by The Boston Consulting Group, identifies several trends that will continue to drive high deal flow, albeit at a reduced rate, through current volatility in the global financial markets. The study also explodes a number of myths about M&A. Among the contrarian findings:
• Private Equity Is Winning by Paying Less
It’s commonly assumed that PE firms have gained an increasingly large share of the M&A market by using their huge reserves of capital to pay over the top for targets. But BCG’s analysis indicates that, on average, PE firms pay lower multiples and lower acquisition premiums than “strategic” buyers.
• Higher Acquisition Premiums Do Not Necessarily Destroy Value
Between 1992 and 2006, value-creating deals had a 21.7 percent premium, on average, compared with an 18.7 percent premium for non-value-creating transactions.
• Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better
Deals over $1 billion destroy nearly twice as much value on a percentage basis as deals below $1 billion. And deals destroy progressively more value as the size of the target increases relative to the size of the acquirer.
• It Doesn’t Always Pay to Be Friendly
Hostile deals are viewed significantly more favorably by investors in today’s market than they were in the preceding wave of M&A (1997–2001).
• Cash Is King
Cash-only transactions have a much more positive impact on value than deals that rely on stock, a mix of stock and cash, or other payment contributions.
The study, published in a new BCG report entitled The Brave New World of M&A: How to Create Value from Mergers and Acquisitions, is based on a detailed analysis of more than 4,000 completed deals between 1992 and 2006. It is believed to be the largest nonacademic study of its kind. Download a PDF version here.
Director Resources
Guide to the Next Big Headaches: New developments in extra-territorial jurisdiction, stock options backdating, and claims against European companies are becoming major areas of concern for company directors. These trends were identified by Willis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker, along with leading legal practitioners from 14 jurisdictions worldwide in the Willis Boardroom Guide 2007. Published by the Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) team of Willis’ Financial Executive and Professional Risks (FINEX) division in conjunction with White Page Ltd., the guide identifies the key issues that affect company directors operating in 14 jurisdictions including the U.S., Europe and the People’s Republic of China. Each chapter focuses on one country and discusses changes in corporate governance, developments in the legislative framework, the role of the regulators and the development of more targeted and determined claimants. To request a copy, email groupcomms@willis.com.
Bankruptcy Oversight: Just published by Thomson West is an all-new edition of Bankruptcy Litigation, a classic resource on trial procedure, litigation strategies and case studies authored by Irell & Manella bankruptcy partner Howard Steinberg. First published in 1989, the new three-volume set is written as a practical, “in-the-trenches” guide to the entire litigation process, from preliminary filings to appeals, and addresses many topics that don’t appear elsewhere, including examinations of as-yet undefined areas of the law. A successful litigator who has represented all manner of clients in bankruptcies, Steinberg claims to have a perfect record at trial: He has never lost a case, including a $36 million judgment this past summer.
IPO Pipeline: The U.S. looks set for another record year of initial public offerings based on companies in registration in the first half of 2007, according to the new Ernst & Young U.S. IPO Pipeline Report. As of June 30, 97 companies were registered to raise a total of $18.2 billion through IPOs. The pharmaceuticals, technology, and oil and gas sectors were the most active in the pipeline. This new IPO report will be issued quarterly as a forward-looking indicator of the IPO market. Further information can be found at http://www.ey.com/perspectives.
Governance of Technology: Scott & Scott has developed a weekly blog entitled Business & Technology Law, which offers high-level, comprehensive content on a range of legal and technology issues that face businesses utilizing technology every day. The most recent issue can be viewed here.
Governance Fellowships: For the fourth consecutive year, Boardwalk Consulting is offering up to six fellowships to attend Governing for Nonprofit Excellence, a program at Harvard Business School designed for board chairs and other seasoned trustees destined for significant board leadership in their respective nonprofits. The deadline for preliminary consideration is September 10 and the fellows will be announced October 17. The program is conducted December 2-5, 2007, at Harvard. Click here for application/nomination information.
Notes
Benjamin J. Murray has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Executive Jet Management Inc. (EJM), a wholly owned subsidiary of NetJets Inc. Mr. Murray was most recently the vice president for new business development within NetJets Sales, a role he served for the past two years. He is active in the aviation industry as a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Experimental Aircraft Association. NetJets is a Berkshire Hathaway company that offers fractional aircraft ownership, and EJM offers aircraft management, charter management, and on-demand charter services.
AlixPartners, the international corporate turnaround, performance improvement and financial advisory firm, has appointed Doug Barnett as managing director and chief financial officer. Before joining the firm he was senior vice president and CFO of UGS PLM Software, a division of Siemens Automation and Drives, headquartered in Plano, Texas.
Beecher Carlson has expanded its executive liability team with the addition of Mark Vella as vice president. He will focus on business and client development for executive liability products for the insurance and risk management brokerage and will be based in the firm’s Irvine, Calif. office.
Back to the Top
Directors & Boards e-Briefing is a monthly service of Directors & Boards. All contents copyright 2007, MLR Holdings LLC.