Management & Leadership

Will Disney’s real activist please stand up?

13 Jan 2023

Dan Loeb started a campaign, but took an easy win. Nelson Peltz is using velvet gloves to persuade current boss Bob Iger to get the $180 bln media giant on the right track. But activists’ main job is forcing a regime change. At Disney, that’s going to take some muscle.

LVMH has smarter way to tackle succession dilemma

11 Jan 2023

Bernard Arnault picked his daughter Delphine to run the luxury giant’s Dior brand. If she proves her mettle, she may win the race among her siblings to eventually replace the 73-year-old tycoon. Naming one heir would help LVMH extend its success to the next generation.

Bayer’s rude health lays better path for breakup

11 Jan 2023

Activists including Jeff Ubben are piling into the $58 bln German seed and drug maker. Its cheap share price, thanks to the dire Monsanto deal, has for years dangled the promise of a lucrative carve-up. Improvements in the pharma unit and a CEO change make it more likely now.

Female bank CEOs help in theory, not yet practice

4 Jan 2023

Marianne Lake or Jennifer Piepszak may one day succeed JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon. Women stack the benches at BNP, UBS and Credit Suisse. Yet too often female CEOs don’t enact change throughout the ranks. Jane Fraser’s Citi shows it takes time for the gender balance to trickle down.

Boardrooms will rediscover the value of gray hair

29 Dec 2022

The economy is headed for conditions not seen in over a decade, yet a third of the U.S. workforce was under 20 during the last real recession. CEOs are getting older, while tech and crypto blowups knocked youth off its perch. In 2023, companies will embrace an aging workforce.

“Lifetime value” is Silicon Valley’s next buzzword

28 Dec 2022

As the cost of recruiting customers rises, tech firms and investors are paying more attention to the revenue users bring in. It’s a welcome shift from breakneck growth. Yet as with previous favourites like “total addressable market” or “flywheel effect”, the idea may get garbled.

Carmakers will reverse out of public markets

28 Dec 2022

Shares of companies like Stellantis and BMW are depressed on fears of a recession, and the threat of Chinese rivals. Yet the groups are profitable and throwing off cash. One way to make the most of low prices is to buy back shares. The logical next step is to go private.

Capricorn mess mixes new and old ESG goofs

22 Dec 2022

Shareholders are angry at a takeover of the $950 mln oil group formerly known as Cairn Energy, months after they rejected a separate deal. It’s partly about price. But it also reflects investors’ new concern over environmental risks, and a very old dislike of poor governance.

Putin’s Russia will look more like North Korea

22 Dec 2022

The Kremlin leader will strengthen his hold over the ailing economy, from banking to industrials. Massive nationalisation, along with the end of U.S. and European investments, could soon be followed by strict capital controls. The complete closure of the Russian economy is next.

How Ana Botín can defeat the Santander sceptics

21 Dec 2022

The Spanish bank suffers from a lower valuation, relative to its return on tangible equity, than rivals. If its executive chair can keep costs low and show the group is worth more than the sum of its parts, that might change. If not, it’s time to sell assets, starting in the U.S..

Vietnam’s Elon Musk challenger turns heads in 2023

21 Dec 2022

Le Thi Thu Thuy is steering VinFast onto Western roads to race the entrepreneur’s premium marque, Tesla. She’ll have to convince investors in its New York IPO to look past niggles at its powerful parent. It’s a complex route, and puts the former Lehman banker in the spotlight.

Capital Calls: U.S. labor market softens, slowly

8 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: Joblessness data suggests Americans are taking longer to find work. That’s good for inflation, but sluggish progress means the Fed will have to keep tightening monetary policy.

Capital Calls: DWS fixes what it can

7 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: The 6 bln euro German asset manager unveiled some punchy new targets, but its biggest challenge will be to unshackle itself from controlling shareholder Deutsche Bank.

New CEO gives Prada more stylish look for listing

6 Dec 2022

Former Luxottica executive Andrea Guerra will replace founder Patrizio Bertelli at the $15 bln fashion house. It’s a breath of fresh air for the family-controlled firm. Putting an experienced outsider in charge may increase Prada’s appeal as it eyes a share sale in Milan.

The complexities of EY’s big breakup bet

6 Dec 2022

The Big Four firm is pushing a plan to separate its auditing unit from its consulting business. In this Exchange podcast Andy Baldwin, global managing partner, discusses the challenges of convincing partners in over 70 countries to back the split – and what happens if it fails.

UniCredit CEO Orcel has leverage in pay debate

6 Dec 2022

The veteran dealmaker has hit his bank’s targets this year and narrowed a valuation gap to peers. Andrea Orcel may therefore deserve his maximum annual bonus. A pay hike beyond that is less obviously required, but legitimate fears he may jump ship may tip the board to offer one.

Breakup is best cure for Fresenius chronic pain

6 Dec 2022

Covid-19 disruption and staff shortages have hit the $16 bln medical group, in which activist fund Elliott owns a stake. Sold separately, its various bits could better reward investors. Flogging low-hanging fruit like hospital builder Vamed would earn CEO Michael Sen a first win.

Capital Calls: Twitter’s news problem

6 Dec 2022

Concise views on global finance: If the U.S. Congress passes a law that allows news organizations to band together and negotiate with online platforms, Elon Musk may have one more challenge to add to his growing list.

Vodafone CEO exit limits room for quick turnaround

5 Dec 2022

Nick Read is leaving the 25 billion pound telecom group after just four years. Finding a permanent successor may take time, and the board’s focus meanwhile is on completing two deals and improving the group’s weak performance. Bold moves like a breakup may take a back seat.

Salesforce shakeup puts co-CEOs under a cloud

1 Dec 2022

Bret Taylor is stepping down after just a year of running the $140 bln software developer alongside founder Marc Benioff. Another former copilot lasted less than two years. Because entrepreneurs typically struggle to surrender the reins, sharing them is often a terrible idea.