Chief Executive (U.S.) articles from May 2003

Chief Executive (U.S.) archives from May 2003

Ignore technology at your Peril. (Editor's Note).(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... Facing war abroad and many pressures at home, it's difficult for CEOs to keep their eyes on technology. But now is a critical time to be doing just that. Although most companies have slashed spending on technology and capital goods, several...

Feedback.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... What Backlash? Regarding "Beware of Global Backlash" (Editor's Note, March 2003), I don't doubt there may be some slowing of globalization in the near future, but I don't think the prognosis is particularly bad. When it comes down to it,...

Sam Waksal. (Darts).(ImClone Systems insider trading)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... It's uncharitable to pick on a guy when he's down, but Waksal, the founder and CEO of ImClone Systems, deserves it. The reason: Aside from his own insider selling, he drew his daughter, Aliza, into the action by telling her to dump 40,000...

Martha Stewart. (Roses).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Could it be that Martha will beat the rap in the ImClone case? The feds are still investigating, but don't appear to have much steam. Martha, whatever you did, put it in a bottle and sell it. One new product tine could be Martha Stewart's...

Get a piece of IBM's mind. (Business).(research and development consulting services)(On Demand Innovation Services unit)
May 1, 2003... If you were a CEO with a seemingly impossible technological challenge, wouldn't you like to have the world's best scientists solving it? And wouldn't it be great not to pay their salaries, just rent their minds? As far-fetched as it may...

CEOs put the big heat on CIOs. (Economy).(Chief Executive Officers)(survey of Chief Information Officers )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... It looks like chief executives are intensifying the pressure on their CIOs to perform, and what a wonderful thing it is. According to a survey of 620 CIOs conducted late last year by Gartner Executive Programs, based in Stamford, Conn.,...

Consultants: who's on top?(book ranks top 200 business gurus)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A NEW BOOK ranks the top 200 business gurus. It's called What's the Big Idea? Creating and Capitalizing on the Best Management Thinking. The main author is Thomas H. Davenport, director of Accenture's Institute for Strategic Change (SSCI) and a...

Credit Suisse First Boston CEO John Mack. (Darts).(Frank Quattrone charged with fraud)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... When Mack took over as CEO of Credit Suisse First Boston, he expressed "complete confidence" in IPO ace Frank Quattrone. Bad call, old son. Quattrone now faces charges for spinning IPOs. What other devils lurk within the heart of CSFB?

Nissan's Carlos Ghosn. (Roses).(to become CEO of Nissan and Renault)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... First, he turned around the moribund automaker faster than an Altima changes lanes. Now, he's planning for his succession--two years before he's scheduled to leave Japan to become CEO of both Nissan and its parent company, Renault, in France....

Sam Palmisano. (Roses).(International Business Machinces executive bonuses)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The new IBM honcho asked his board to cut his 2003 bonus and set it aside to share with other top executives. It could be worth $3 million to $5 million. Slick PR, for sure. But it also sends a signal to other CEOs that moderating in difficult...

How low can confidence go? (CEO Confidence Index).(Chief Executive Officer survey)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CEO confidence fell sharply in our most recent survey, but the war in Iraq wasn't necessarily the biggest cause of dismay. The overall CEO Confidence Index fell to a low of 89.4, down from 100 in October, when we commenced our email...

Big oil profits from uncertainty. (By the Numbers).(Related article: Oil Gauge)
May 1, 2003... Not surprisingly, the war in Iraq, a three-month general strike in Venezuela and political turmoil that has halted production in Nigeria are all playing havoc with world oil prices and production levels. The only mild surprise is that the...

It's (not that) hard to say you're sorry. (Thought Leader).(Henry Paulson, Jr. apologies to employees at Goldman Sachs)
May 1, 2003... I'm sorry." Not easy words for anyone to say. Yet chief executives are saying them more often than ever before--even when they're not required to do so. CEOs are the public faces of the companies they run, and an apology is often the best way...

The hidden benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley. (Chief Concern).(impact of new law on companies and chief executive officers)
May 1, 2003... Edward Nusbaum Being a CEO at a public company is clearly not as enviable a position as it once was. The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act last summer, with its numerous penalties for corporate wrongdoing, means some CEOs could actually...

How Corporate reforms could backfire. (Chief Concern).(compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act creates shortage of corporate directors)
May 1, 2003... There will be unintended consequences for Corporate America if reformers overreact and radically change the way companies govern themselves. In a perverse way, reformers may trigger a crisis that would weaken, rather than strengthen,...

CEO vs CEO: in the fight over expensing stock options, it's the tech industry against the world. .(Chief Executive Officer)(TechNet opposition)(includes graph of 25 companies that expense the most)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2003... On a brisk Wednesday morning in mid-March, six men and one woman assemble in a nondescript room in a suburban office park in Norwalk, Conn., 40 miles from New York City. The gathering in the small, maroon-carpeted amphitheater has the informal,...

Dare to be different: commoditization looms around every corner. Differentiate now--or wind up just another label on a supermarket shelf. (Management).(various industry approaches to developing and retaining customer satisifaction in an era of global competition)
May 1, 2003... Most CEOs would give almost anything for a glamorous, all-cash business with a near-guaranteed percentage of profits. But for Gary Loveman, president and CEO of Harrah's Entertainment, the thrill of the gaming industry vanished almost from the...

Managing email hell: a surge in legal demands for long-forgotten emails is playing right into the hands of Zantaz CEO Steve King. (Technology).(Related article: CEO Stats)(profile of Steve King)
May 1, 2003... The feds want your email-and that could mean trouble. Just ask the CEOs of Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Smith Barney and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. In December 2002, federal regulators slapped the five firms...

Getting outsourcing right: here are lessons from the biggest deals of what to do-and what not to do.
May 1, 2003... The gutting of the corporate back office continues at a rapid pace, as CEOs outsource large chunks of their operations. In 2002, a flurry of year-end activity--including a $4.5 billion deal between Bank of America and EDS, as well as a $5...

Europe turns east: the EU's expansion could create opportunities--and pitfalls. (Regional Report: Europe).
May 1, 2003... Next time you're in Vienna, try renting a car to drive across the Austrian border, just 40 miles away. Start by mentioning that you're aiming for Hungary and watch the rental clerk turn pale. You'll be in for a shock too, when you see the price...

Flouting conventional wisdom: INSEAD scholars W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne say the key to success isn't about your company or industry. It's about smart strategic moves.(Institut Europeen d'Administration des Affaires)(research on weath creation)
May 1, 2003... Chief executives in search of strategic inspiration traditionally have had two alternatives. They start with either their industry or their company as the basic building block. The former leads them into the familiar if cold embrace of Michael...

North by Northwest. (Travel).(executive services at Northwest US resorts)(Firehole Ranch, Sunriver Resort, and Solitude River Trips)
May 1, 2003... When Robert Parker taxis down the runway at Oakland International this summer in his single-engine Bonanza A36 headed for Sunriver, his vacation will begin in earnest. Parker, chairman of Parker Price Venture Capital in San Francisco, will get...

Porsche goes SUV. (Wheels).(Porsche Cayenne sport utility vehicle)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... When I heard that Porsche was jumping into the SUV market, I had what must be a common reaction: "They're doing what?" It struck me as a major marketing non sequitur-kind of like hearing that Robert Mondavi had decided to distill Scotch. ...

Honda's accord EX. (Executive Life).(Automobile)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2003... The CEOs I've known, even billionaires, have been passionate about getting value for their money. At the same time, the best ones know that every action they take is scrutinized by others in their companies. If the boss blows big bucks on a...

How to find your spring groove. (Golf).
May 1, 2003... For CEO golfers who live in the North and the Midwest--and even many parts of the South--spring couldn't arrive soon enough this year. As the fierce winter just past buried fairways and greens under snow, golfers resigned themselves to putting...

Clarity ain't what it used to be. (Flip Side).
May 1, 2003... In the past few months, a perplexing new term has crept into the vocabulary of the business community. The word is "clarity." Increasingly, we hear that investors failed to buy stocks or companies delayed making investments because they lacked...

Is America's innovation at risk?(corporate scandals and cash flow)(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... The U.S. economy has long been the envy of the world for how it propels new ideas into the marketplace. Part of the explanation for our success is the way capital is allocated to help those ideas blossom. The surge of capital into the high-tech...

Amid Gloom, a note of optimism. (Editorials).(CEO's job to keep company focused on future)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... It's extremely difficult in times such as these to find much cheer. War, the technology sector's nuclear winter, the wave of corporate scandals, the stock market's continued decline and overall economic conditions are overwhelmingly negative...

The new business imperative the capacity to respond.(cope with change)
May 1, 2003... Business is increasingly characterized by rapid and unpredictable change. Here are key concepts that can make your company more adaptive -- and turn volatility to your advantage. Volatility is redefining the business environment. Just ask...