The board: Starting at top row, left to right, with executive committee members in boldface: Dubow, Elias, Harper, Louis, Magner, McCune, McFarland, Shalala, Shapiro and Williams.With Gannett's stock now in free-fall, Chairman and CEO Craig Dubow and the nine independent directors should have confidential briefing books in hand for Tuesday's meeting. These binder-style books typically include an agenda and supporting documents for what in this instance will be a two-day meeting.
There will be presentations by key executives -- almost certainly including the one executive perhaps more powerful than Dubow himself: Chief Financial Officer Gracia Martore (left). The signal event, either day: Whether to cut the dividend, now promising an extraordinary 43% yield. In their decision, directors may well determine this 102-year-old company's very survival.Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
Donna Shalala isn't qualified to be on an ouigi board, let alone a corporate board.
ReplyDeleteThis type of nonsense is why Dubow and his cronies get away with their incompetence.
I wonder what Howard Elias and Scott McCune think about their new board positions at Gannett. I have to imagine if they want to make statement they would vote to throw Dubow out of this place.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious whether any large instituional investors (AXA and Brandes) plan to make comments to the board and/or challenge the status quo.
ReplyDeleteThey have lots of $ at stake.
8:10. AXA & Brandes HAD lots of money at stake.....not much of it is left.
ReplyDeleteThere is not much time left for this (and many other) company. The cascading collapse of eastern european economies is about to cause a balance of payments/banking crisis in Western Europe which will the initiate the 2nd Wave of the global financial crisis and swallow up the trillions of dollars of U.S. bank bailouts.
My point is, Gannett is a very small boat on a big ocean in the middle of a horrific hurricane. It -and unfortunately we- will suffer the same fate (economically) as the Adrea Gail in the movie The Perfect Storm.
Make plans people...make plans. Good Luck.
Check out the article about Newly Poor in the New York Times.
www.nytimes.com/2009/20/20/nyregion/20food.html
Board of directors needs to reduce or suspend their pay for meetings. Top 5 people need to have there pay cut by at least 20%. No bonuses company wide and a CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP!!!!
ReplyDeleteI actually feel for the board right now. If must be an awful feeling knowing you have to make a decision about dividends.
ReplyDeleteHow do they do that? Is it a vote or what?