A story in BusinessWeek today by Roger Crockett is a superb take on the continuing viability of Edward J. Zander as CEO of Motorola. Zander and the board remain under intense pressure to turn Motorola around.
Take a look.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Starbucks Works Hard to Remain On Top
Starbucks SBUX (NASDAQ) reconfigures management to stay on top of its global development.
Martin Coles, current president of Starbucks Coffee International, was named chief operating officer, a new position at the company. Coles will manage global operations and be responsible for U.S. and international store operations and store development, Starbucks global consumer products group and supply chain operations. According to the Starbucks press release,
Starbucks continues to focus on management to stay at the top of its game.
Martin Coles, current president of Starbucks Coffee International, was named chief operating officer, a new position at the company. Coles will manage global operations and be responsible for U.S. and international store operations and store development, Starbucks global consumer products group and supply chain operations. According to the Starbucks press release,
Coles served as president and ceo of Reebok International. His experience also includes senior management positions such as executive vice president, Nike, Inc.; senior vice president, international operations for Gateway, Inc.; and vice president, operations for one of PepsiCo, Inc.’s U.S. BottlJim Alling, president of Starbucks Coffee U.S., will replace Coles as president of Starbucks Coffee International and Launi Skinner will replace Alling as president of Starbucks Coffee U.S. She is currently senior vice president of store development.ing Operations. Coles also served in various management roles for Procter & Gamble both in the U.K. and later in the U.S.
Starbucks continues to focus on management to stay at the top of its game.
Succession Planning for CFOs?
FierceSarbox highlighted an interesting article in CFO magazine talking about the need for CFOs to develop succession planning. Unlike CEOs, there appears to be very little succession planning for CFOs. The lack of succession plans for CFOs can often open the door to investment opportunities when a key CFO leaves a company. Investors should keep their eye on CFO changes that might impact a company short or long-term.
For more on the story check out CFO.com.
For more on the story check out CFO.com.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Financial Blogging - Hazardous to Your Job?
The saga of Whole Foods CEO's blogging exploits continues to grow. Last Friday The Wall Street Journal announced that the SEC has begun a probe into John Mackey's supposed anonymous postings on Yahoo's message board regarding his firm's competitor and acquisition target Wild Oats. Could Mackey's job now be at risk?
The motto of the story - think before you post.
For more:
Businessweek Management IQ blog 7/25/07
MSNBC 7/18/07 Whole Foods-Wild Oats Deal at Risk Now?
Timesonline 7/18/07 Subsequent Apology
Newratings.com 7/18/07 Subsequent Apology
Seeking Alpha
FT
CNBC
Newsvine
Schaeffer's Daily Blog
Business Week blog
The motto of the story - think before you post.
For more:
Businessweek Management IQ blog 7/25/07
MSNBC 7/18/07 Whole Foods-Wild Oats Deal at Risk Now?
Timesonline 7/18/07 Subsequent Apology
Newratings.com 7/18/07 Subsequent Apology
Seeking Alpha
FT
CNBC
Newsvine
Schaeffer's Daily Blog
Business Week blog
CEOs on Tighter Leash -Exemplified by Spartech?
Earlier today, the CEO of Spartech SEH (NYSE), Georg Abd, announced his retirement as CEO and member of the board for personal reasons. The company appointed Randy Martin, the current CFO, as interim CEO. Spartech, a compounder and sheet extruder, has been doing reasonably well over the last year but recently announced it would have to revise its earnings guidance lower and also failed to meet its quarterly sales goa
l for this most recent quarter.
Abd was appointed Spartech's CEO in May of 2005. During his tenure with the firm, he managed to restructure parts of the company which included the closing of a number of plants, the sale of certain operations as well as executed a number of acquisitions. Spartech's business is subject to the run-up in oil prices which directly impacts the company's raw material costs. While considered a leader in its field it has a number of challenges in this difficult marketplace.
It is hard to determine right now the real reasons behind Abd's sudden resignation. Investors should watch the firm closely for any dramatic changes in strategy or whether the company becomes a possible takeover target or private equity acquisition possibility.
For more see:
RTT News
Wall Street Transcript Interview (sub. req.)
Forbes
l for this most recent quarter.Abd was appointed Spartech's CEO in May of 2005. During his tenure with the firm, he managed to restructure parts of the company which included the closing of a number of plants, the sale of certain operations as well as executed a number of acquisitions. Spartech's business is subject to the run-up in oil prices which directly impacts the company's raw material costs. While considered a leader in its field it has a number of challenges in this difficult marketplace.
It is hard to determine right now the real reasons behind Abd's sudden resignation. Investors should watch the firm closely for any dramatic changes in strategy or whether the company becomes a possible takeover target or private equity acquisition possibility.
For more see:
RTT News
Wall Street Transcript Interview (sub. req.)
Forbes
Financial Week Turns to Liberum for CFO Turnover
Tara Kalwarski in the July 16 issue of Financial Week turns to Liberum for our take on CFO turnover. Take a look.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Growing Use of CFO Rentals Explored By Financial Week
Jeff Nash wrote an article for Financial Week discussing the growing use of CFO rentals. The article focused on Tivo's latest announcement:
Tiring of having changed CFOs three times in less than two years, digital video recording service provider TiVo has chosen to rent its new finance chief.I have noticed for some time a growing trend in this space but Tivo's filing seems to confirm what is happening in this area.
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals Hires Top CEO
Aspreva Pharmaceuticals ASPV (NASDAQ) a pharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and upon approval commercializing evidence-based medicines for patients living with less common diseases announced the hiring of J. William Freytag, PhD to replace the company's founder and current chairman and CEO, Richard Glickman. Glickman in May announced he planned to depart the firm for personal reasons. Freytag's appointment is a terrific choice for Aspreva. 
Aspreva, a small biotech company has been working hard through clinical testing to get FDA approval for its CellCept drug. Currently in Phase III testing, the drug may offer real advantages for people suffering with lupus nephritis and pemphigus vulgaris. Unlike many other biotech's, Aspreva has actually run a profit for eight consecutive quarters. Freytag's appointment to head up the firm could be just the right medicine for the firm as it moves forward.
Freytag has worked on the business side on a number of different pharmaceutical related firms and he is also extremely well-versed in the scientific-side of the business as well. In his most recent executive position, which started back in 2000 and ended in late 2006, he was the President, CEO and Chairman of Myogen, Inc. another publicly-traded development-stage biopharmaceutical company. Under his tutelage, Myogen was acquired by Gilead Sciences. Freytag is also currently on the board of a number of biotech related firm's as well organizations. He was in fact recently appointed Chairman of the Board of Immunicon another development-stage publicly traded biotech. Prior to Myogen he worked for a number of big and small pharmaceutical related companies.
Expect more positive changes at Aspreva and keep a close eye on its Phase III testing results.
Update on Aspreva
BloggingStocks 7/18/07
Aspreva, a small biotech company has been working hard through clinical testing to get FDA approval for its CellCept drug. Currently in Phase III testing, the drug may offer real advantages for people suffering with lupus nephritis and pemphigus vulgaris. Unlike many other biotech's, Aspreva has actually run a profit for eight consecutive quarters. Freytag's appointment to head up the firm could be just the right medicine for the firm as it moves forward.
Freytag has worked on the business side on a number of different pharmaceutical related firms and he is also extremely well-versed in the scientific-side of the business as well. In his most recent executive position, which started back in 2000 and ended in late 2006, he was the President, CEO and Chairman of Myogen, Inc. another publicly-traded development-stage biopharmaceutical company. Under his tutelage, Myogen was acquired by Gilead Sciences. Freytag is also currently on the board of a number of biotech related firm's as well organizations. He was in fact recently appointed Chairman of the Board of Immunicon another development-stage publicly traded biotech. Prior to Myogen he worked for a number of big and small pharmaceutical related companies.
Expect more positive changes at Aspreva and keep a close eye on its Phase III testing results.
Update on Aspreva
BloggingStocks 7/18/07
Monday, July 9, 2007
What Really Happened At UBS?
Last week's sudden and unexpected departure of UBS AG UBS (NYSE) CEO Peter Wuffli appears to be characterized by old fashioned Swiss secrecy. The bank remains silent on why Wuffli departed. Was he forced out after the Board went against 
the wishes of its powerful Chairman Marcel Ospel to make Wuffli his successor or did he jump ship after failing to get the nod for the Chairmanship? Whatever the reason, UBS has appointed Wuffli's deputy 42 year old Marcel Rohner to replace Wuffli immediately.
Rohner, a PhD Econometrician, has been credited with successfully running the bank's wealth management business. The bank's wealth management business has been responsible for a large portion of the company's operating profit. The big question that seems be difficult for the company to put to rest is whether Rohner will embark on a new business strategy possibly breaking up parts of the bank, specifically selling off the investment bank or continue on as things are now. So far the bank, and its new CEO, Rohner insist that corporate strategy will remain the same as it was under Wuffli. We will just have to wait and see.
The shakeup at UBS, nevertheless, remains a full-fledged puzzle. Under Wuffli's leadership UBS thrived for a number of years. Success continued both in its private banking and wealth management business while at the same time the bank performed exceptionally well in investment banking. This all changed over the past year. Investment Banking starting having some difficulties, on top of that the bank was forced to get out of a troubled hedge fund which tarnished its image, and there were a number of very high-profile defections from the firm, the most prominent being the departure of Ken Moelis, who headed up investment banking. Many analysts attribute these problems to Wuffli's sudden departure. The most surprising aspect of the management upheaval was the unanimous decision by the board not to follow the wishes of the bank's all-powerful chairman, Marcel Ospel to make Wuffli his successor. Then on top of this failure to get his hand picked successor approved, the board then went on to ask and get Ospel's agreement to continue on as chairman for another three years after he had already made his wish to retire well-known. The recent management turnover at UBS remains an unsolved puzzle.
Investors need to keep a very close eye on corporate moves coming out of the bank for the next number of months.
For more on the story see:
Financial News (July 11, 2007)
Financial Times (July 10, 2007)
Here is the City News
Financial Times (subscription req.)
UBS Press Release
Forbes
Bloomberg
International Herald Tribune
Euronews
Swissinfo
Bloggingstocks
the wishes of its powerful Chairman Marcel Ospel to make Wuffli his successor or did he jump ship after failing to get the nod for the Chairmanship? Whatever the reason, UBS has appointed Wuffli's deputy 42 year old Marcel Rohner to replace Wuffli immediately.Rohner, a PhD Econometrician, has been credited with successfully running the bank's wealth management business. The bank's wealth management business has been responsible for a large portion of the company's operating profit. The big question that seems be difficult for the company to put to rest is whether Rohner will embark on a new business strategy possibly breaking up parts of the bank, specifically selling off the investment bank or continue on as things are now. So far the bank, and its new CEO, Rohner insist that corporate strategy will remain the same as it was under Wuffli. We will just have to wait and see.
The shakeup at UBS, nevertheless, remains a full-fledged puzzle. Under Wuffli's leadership UBS thrived for a number of years. Success continued both in its private banking and wealth management business while at the same time the bank performed exceptionally well in investment banking. This all changed over the past year. Investment Banking starting having some difficulties, on top of that the bank was forced to get out of a troubled hedge fund which tarnished its image, and there were a number of very high-profile defections from the firm, the most prominent being the departure of Ken Moelis, who headed up investment banking. Many analysts attribute these problems to Wuffli's sudden departure. The most surprising aspect of the management upheaval was the unanimous decision by the board not to follow the wishes of the bank's all-powerful chairman, Marcel Ospel to make Wuffli his successor. Then on top of this failure to get his hand picked successor approved, the board then went on to ask and get Ospel's agreement to continue on as chairman for another three years after he had already made his wish to retire well-known. The recent management turnover at UBS remains an unsolved puzzle.
Investors need to keep a very close eye on corporate moves coming out of the bank for the next number of months.
For more on the story see:
Financial News (July 11, 2007)
Financial Times (July 10, 2007)
Here is the City News
Financial Times (subscription req.)
UBS Press Release
Forbes
Bloomberg
International Herald Tribune
Euronews
Swissinfo
Bloggingstocks
Monday, July 2, 2007
Slurpee Former Chief To Save Blockbuster?
Back in May, Blockbuster BBI (NYSE) forced its Chairman and CEO John F. Antioco out of office after pressure from outside investor Carl Icahn and the its board of directors. Today Blockbuster announced that it has hired James W. Keyes, a former CEO of Seven Eleven to become the company's CEO and Chairman. Keyes, who left Seven Eleven in 2005 after it it was bought, is known as a keen retailer who successfully ran a national networ
k of small-box retail locations where he managed to introduce new products and new technology to an industry constantly under change.
At first glance, his appointment appears to be a very good choice. Blockbuster is currently working hard to make its latest strategy known as Total Access a success against its prime competitor Netflix. Through continuing marketing efforts the company has tried to convince consumers that its retail store network offers an added advantage for consumers when using Blockbuster's online rental service. Unlike Netflix consumers can go to their neighborhood Blockbuster store to return a DVD rather than wait for returning the DVD by mail. For now the concept sounds like a hard sell when you consider that Blcokbuster to stop the bleeding is closing many of its stores to remain competitive. Keyes does offer a background in technology and retailing which at a minimum can only be helpful to the company and an improvement overall Antioco. Keyes has a tremendous challenge ahead of him. Blockbuster does not even have a movie download system under development. Keyes does have one additional thing going for him, he appears to have the confidenc eof Carl Icahn and board.
We will just have to wait and see.
For more on the story:
Star Telegram (next day update)
CNBC
CNN Money
COMPUTERWORLD BLOG
BLOGGINGSTOCKS
Forbes
Star Telegram
k of small-box retail locations where he managed to introduce new products and new technology to an industry constantly under change.At first glance, his appointment appears to be a very good choice. Blockbuster is currently working hard to make its latest strategy known as Total Access a success against its prime competitor Netflix. Through continuing marketing efforts the company has tried to convince consumers that its retail store network offers an added advantage for consumers when using Blockbuster's online rental service. Unlike Netflix consumers can go to their neighborhood Blockbuster store to return a DVD rather than wait for returning the DVD by mail. For now the concept sounds like a hard sell when you consider that Blcokbuster to stop the bleeding is closing many of its stores to remain competitive. Keyes does offer a background in technology and retailing which at a minimum can only be helpful to the company and an improvement overall Antioco. Keyes has a tremendous challenge ahead of him. Blockbuster does not even have a movie download system under development. Keyes does have one additional thing going for him, he appears to have the confidenc eof Carl Icahn and board.
We will just have to wait and see.
For more on the story:
Star Telegram (next day update)
CNBC
CNN Money
COMPUTERWORLD BLOG
BLOGGINGSTOCKS
Forbes
Star Telegram
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