Sunday, June 14, 2009

Chairmen | Why history may not be a guide

A nearly 20-year history of gradual leadership handoffs could be broken, creating a potential dilemma for the current board of directors:

1. Chairman and CEO Al Neuharth became chairman only, and John Curley became CEO. Then Neuharth retired, and Curley added the board chairmanship to his CEO duties.

2. Curley became chairman only, and Doug McCorkindale became CEO. McCorkindale later added the chairmanship to his CEO-ship.

3. McCorkindale became chairman only, as Craig Dubow became CEO.

4. Dubow was named chairman as well.

Now, what would happen if the current chairman and CEO resigned abruptly, vacating both positions simultaneously? Does his successor get both titles? If not, who would become board chairman?

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 rail, upper right.

1 comment:

  1. Let's hope that practice comes to an end. Combining the two posts is what leads to abuse of power and lack of oversight, not just at Gannett, but at companies across America. They should always be separate, IMHO.

    ReplyDelete

Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.