Management & Leadership

Facebook hires one weapon for two-handed fight

19 October 2018

Nick Clegg, former UK deputy PM, will lead global affairs at the $450 bln social network. His anti-Brexit stance and EU background could help with tribulations in Brussels. But he’s an odd choice to deal with Washington, where scrutiny may intensify after the midterm elections.

Energy bigwigs fiddle while world burns

16 October 2018

The White House may nix a plan to breathe life into the coal industry. Exxon’s new support for a carbon tax could mostly hit anthracite, not its own fossil fuels. Avoiding devastating climate change requires serious commitment, not baby steps, putting yet more onus on investors.

The Exchange: Anshu Jain

15 October 2018

Deutsche Bank was credited with coming through the 2008 crisis in better shape than many of its rivals. Jain, who rose from running the German lender’s global markets business to eventually become CEO, stopped by Times Square to speak with Rob Cox about the state of finance.

Lampert now at mercy of Sears, not vice versa

15 October 2018

The bankrupt retailer’s top owner dragged investors along for over a decade as he kept it alive against the odds. Now although he’s owed some $2.6 bln, he’s no longer in charge and he’ll have to fight with other lenders and the government’s pension guarantor for every dollar.

Citi can rise above Wall Street’s bad governance

15 October 2018

The mega-bank was one of the first to split the chair and CEO roles in the financial crisis – and is one of the last still adhering to this best practice. It has served Citi well, augmenting the case for finding a new overseer for Mike Corbat when Mike O’Neill retires.

BofA punches above Wells Fargo’s weight

15 October 2018

The Charlotte-based bank’s earnings typically lag those of its West Coast rival. Yet the two trade at the same multiple of tangible book value. CEO Brian Moynihan's implicit valuation premium has taken years to achieve. Wells' Tim Sloan may soon reach his turning point.

ConvaTec investors brace for lengthy patch-up job

15 October 2018

The UK medical devices maker lost nearly 30 pct of its value after it warned of lower growth and its CEO resigned. The selloff seems excessive given modest changes to revenue and margins. The remedy could be cost cuts. But any turnaround will have to wait for a new chief.

Cox: Global finance has a Saudi Arabia problem

14 October 2018

Wall Street bosses and their European and Japanese peers are reconsidering next week’s “Davos in the Desert.” Like China, there’s money at stake. Unlike Russia there’s no guidance from above. A coordinated pullout following Jamie Dimon’s withdrawal is their least-bad option.

Sears’ checkout moment is a lesson in timing

11 October 2018

The retail chain is on the brink of bankruptcy after creditors lost patience. Its fate may follow that of Toys R Us, which is being liquidated. Retail failures are common but not inevitable. Sears might have had a shot if boss Eddie Lampert had grasped the nettle six years ago.

Tesla can find a better chair than James Murdoch

11 October 2018

The media executive is in line to lead the board, the FT says. He’d be a better pick than any of the $45 bln electric-car maker’s other directors. But Elon Musk’s tweet denying the story is a reminder that Tesla and its investors need a strong outsider to oversee the CEO.

South Africa offers markets a too-friendly face

9 October 2018

New finance chief Tito Mboweni is one of the country’s most respected black economists, and his decade at the helm of the reserve bank adds credibility to Cyril Ramaphosa’s government. Ties to Goldman Sachs, though, could make him a target for political criticism at home.

Perrigo’s new CEO is a strategic smoke signal

9 October 2018

An ill-timed expansion left the Irish firm struggling with a tough market for generic drugs. Now it has hired a new chief who formerly ran cigarette companies, breaking a pharma-sector taboo. That’s an emphatic statement that its future lies in consumer goods.

Aviva will find strategy harder to switch than CEO

9 October 2018

Mark Wilson is leaving the insurer after six years. Although he simplified the firm, boosted capital and bought Friends Life, Aviva’s valuation lags peers. If his successor can’t strategically advance beyond cross-selling and digital forays, it could become a takeover target.

GE could take a leaf from Elon Musk on CEO pay

5 October 2018

There’s little worth emulating in the recent antics of Tesla’s erratic boss. But his long-term pay plan, while outsized, is tied to several ambitious performance metrics. That’s more defensible than GE offering Larry Culp up to some $226 mln for hitting stock-price targets alone.

Review: Michael Ovitz’s Hollywood adventure

5 October 2018

The super-agent is out with an autobiography about life as a dealmaker and art collector, as well as a short-lived stint as the Disney CEO’s heir apparent. Like Tinseltown, it’s long on bravado and short on self-awareness. But his time at the Mouse House is a cautionary tale.

California boardroom gender quota is useful nudge

1 October 2018

A quarter of public firms based in the state have no women directors. Now they’ll have to change that, as some big investors already demand. Similar rules in Norway, say, have not obviously trickled down. But that may take decades – and board balance is a valid goal in itself.

Pfizer takes Hippocratic approach to governance

1 October 2018

The drugmaker has split its CEO and chairman roles, but undermined the impact by keeping boss Ian Read on as an executive chairman. Fortunately the $258 bln drugmaker’s pipeline puts it on a sound footing. Like much about Read’s strategy, at least the reshuffle does no harm.

GE brings life and meaning to the word culpability

1 October 2018

The stumbling industrial group replaced its newish CEO with former Danaher boss Larry Culp, while taking a $23 bln hit on its power unit. By holding John Flannery accountable and expunging his predecessor’s legacy of dealmaking, GE’s board has shown welcome, if belated, spine.

Orcel exit tests UBS’s Goldilocks investment bank

1 October 2018

Like the girl in the fairy tale, the Swiss lender wants a capital markets arm that is just the right size: not too big to weigh on its valuation, but not too small to compete. Departing chief Andrea Orcel managed the balancing act. His successors have to prove they can too.

Musk suit could uncover Tesla’s true value

27 September 2018

The U.S. securities regulator wants Elon Musk removed as CEO and director, saying he lied about a plan to take the $53 bln electric-car maker private. His exit would leave Tesla much depleted, but also more rationally valued – if it can motor past a looming liquidity crunch.