Directors & Boards articles from March 1999

Directors & Boards archives from March 1999

Is your D&O policy ready to handle M&A?(mergers and acquisitions)(directors' and officers' liability insurance)
March 22, 1999... Take steps now to ensure that your merger will not be derailed by insurance considerations. In today's dynamic economy, it is vital for anyone purchasing directors' and officers' (D&O) liability insurance to evaluate how the numerous...

You have been named in class-action lawsuit.(tips on appropriate responses)
March 22, 1999... 'Never give in'? Or, a willingness to settle? How are you prepared to respond? If your company is in the service industry or engaged in the manufacture or sale of consumer products, a major class-action lawsuit can be the most significant...

Opening up an insular culture.(succession planning strategy)
March 22, 1999... Here is a succession planning strategy that facilitates the embrace of outside talent and fresh ideas. Peter F. Drucker made the following observation last year: "Management does not need more information about what is happening inside. It...

A Traitor to his Class.(Review)
March 22, 1999... Published by John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 378 pages, $29.95 REVIEWED BY L. DENNIS KOZLOWSKI Bob Monks has been called a lot of things over the years: gadfly, zealot, visionary, crusader, activist, self-aggrandizer...the list goes...

Introduction to the Work of the Audit Committee.(Review)
March 22, 1999... Published by Camhy Karlinsky & Stein LLP, New York, 45 pages REVIEWED BY THOMAS J. REILLY JR. The year 1999 may or may not be the last year of the millennium. In the world of corporate governance, however, it really is the "Year of the...

Navigating the EPLI Maze.(Review)
March 22, 1999... Published by Bowne & Co. Inc., New York, 41 pages, $10.00 REVIEWED BY MICHAEL L. GASSMANN Few types of insurance have grown as rapidly - and evolved as quickly - as employment practices liability (EPL) insurance. Since the early 1990s...

Behind the art of M&A with Bruce Wasserstein.(mergers and acquisitions)(Interview)(Cover Story)
March 22, 1999... One of the country's most accomplished dealmakers offers some tactical advice on acquisitions, on governance, and on team building. INTERVIEW BY HOFFER KABACK Bruce wasserstein, co-founder and CEO of investment banking firm Wasserstein...

The problem of emotion in the boardroom.(corporate governance)
March 22, 1999... Left unchecked, the force of emotion may act to compromise influential directors' abilities to promote the best interests of shareholders when the menu of options facing the board renders the status quo untenable. When a company's...

A message to my successor.(tips from a CEO)
March 22, 1999... Parting advice, in the form of nine commandments, on what a new CEO needs to know. The most important commandment of all - 'Hang Loose.' My name is Fletcher Byrom. I am 50 years old and I am the chief executive officer of one of...

Member criteria for audit committees.
March 22, 1999... Amid a growing concern about financial reporting, a major report focuses on fortifying standards of independence and 'financial literacy' of audit committee members. Good governance dictates that the board be comprised of individuals with...

Revitalizing an underperforming unit.(corporate governance)
March 22, 1999... An otherwise healthy company may have an underperforming business unit which damages overall financial results. Since investors will not tolerate such a situation for very long, management needs a disciplined process to remedy the problem. ...

Before your M&A deal, do a human capital audit.(mergers and acquisition)
March 22, 1999... Going beyond crunching the numbers, many CEOs are conducting an additional audit to assess the managerial talent in the company they are considering buying. Any casual reader of the business press now knows that many highly touted...

Directors roster.(survey of board director appointments from Jan to Mar 1999)
March 22, 1999... In affiliation with Spencer Stuart a quarterly record of new director appointments This edition marks a record-breaking 244 companies listed in the Directors Roster. Our tracking of 308 new directors also closely matches the record of 315...

David Pottruck.(Director Spotlight)(profile on the Charles Schwab Corp.'s co-CEO)
March 22, 1999... The co-CEO of Charles Schwab Corp. talks about boards, the Internet, and the 'tyranny of incumbency.' When the Wharton Technology Club recognized David Pottruck, president and co-CEO of the nation's biggest online-brokerage operation, as...

Thomas F. 'Mack' McLarty.(Director Spotlight)(profile on the board member of Acxiom Corp. and Entergy Corp.)
March 22, 1999... From Main Street to the White House and back, this former chief of staff now brings his business acumen into the Acxiom and Entergy boardrooms. On the day following the 1992 presidential election, Mack McLarty received a phone call from an...

Sergio Zyman.(Director Spotlight)(profile on the board member of College Television Network Inc.)
March 22, 1999... Looking for some marketing pizzazz, College Television Network adds the 'Ayacola' to its board. When Coca-Cola Chairman and CEO Douglas Ivester was first promoted to head of the company's North American operations in the early '90s, he...

Elaine Chao.(Director Spotlight)(profile on the board member of Northwest Airlines Inc., Dole Food Co. and the National Association of Security Dealers Inc.)
March 22, 1999... Northwest Airlines tickets a boardroom seat for this transportation expert and leader of charitable organizations. Elaine Chao always knew that she wanted to live a life of service to others. In her early years as an immigrant to America...

A durable climate.(profile on Robert A.G. Monks)
March 22, 1999... Robert A.G. Monks considers his activism agenda for the future. The next frontier for the team of Robert Monks and Nell Minow is addressing the conflict of interest that keeps major financial institutions, including corporate pension funds,...