Management & Leadership

EssilorLuxottica succession blur needs clearing up

18 Dec 2017

The Italian glasses maker set to merge with France’s Essilor has replaced its CEO. New boss Francesco Milleri may succeed founder Leonardo Del Vecchio as head of the combined firm. Yet the French seem less certain. The lack of clarity could complicate an already tricky merger.

Ryanair investors faintly see higher-cost future

18 Dec 2017

They have knocked over 2 bln euros off the budget airline’s market value since it caved in and recognised unions on Friday, averting a Christmas strike. That’s more than the extra staff outlays may be worth. If easyJet is a guide, though, Ryanair’s expenses will rise further.

Steinhoff takes minimum first step in cleanup

15 Dec 2017

The departure of Chairman Christo Wiese was a prerequisite to shoring up trust in the embattled retailer. Surviving its accounting scandal presents more imminent challenges, though. Lenders must next week be persuaded to provide more money and jittery suppliers kept on side.

UBS executive reshuffle fires up succession race

14 Dec 2017

Martin Blessing has replaced Juerg Zeltner as head of the Swiss group’s private bank. The ex-Commerzbank boss has good timing: tax issues are mostly in the past. If he can fend off rivals in Asia and reignite European growth he boosts his chances of replacing CEO Sergio Ermotti.

Steinhoff is priced for unvarnished truth

11 Dec 2017

An accounting scandal and debt downgrade has cast doubt over the furniture maker’s future. Retail assets and investments should comfortably cover net debt of 6.5 billion euros. With shares down 80 percent in less than a week, however, investors are anticipating more bad news.

Viewsroom: Executive payouts in rude health

7 Dec 2017

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini is bagging $500 million from selling the insurance company to drugstore chain CVS – despite only a middling performance as boss. Behind such healthcare mergers: a desire to cut out a surfeit of middlemen.

Steinhoff meltdown shows market fallibility

6 Dec 2017

The furniture retailer shed more than half its market value after a probe was launched into accounting irregularities and its CEO stepped down. Investors who had ignored red flags such as a 2015 investigation and oddly low tax rates are paying the price of being too trusting.

Deutsche Bank fund IPO raises perverse paradox

5 Dec 2017

The German lender plans to list a stake in its 711 bln euro asset management unit. A rebrand and new legal structure should help reassure clients and shareholders nervous about Deutsche’s health. But selling a chunk of its most profitable unit will leave behind a weaker bank.

Provident Financial probe complicates salvage job

5 Dec 2017

Shares in the embattled lender fell 13 pct after UK regulators investigated its car unit. Its card business is also under scrutiny and its home credit division is reeling from a botched revamp. Financial clouds will make it harder to find a new CEO or bolster its balance sheet.

Broadcom fires board broadside from shaky platform

4 Dec 2017

The chipmaker is nominating 11 directors at Qualcomm, which has rejected its roughly $105 bln unsolicited offer. Only a brave shareholder would replace a board solely to advance a not-yet-financed bid. But the move pressures Qualcomm to engage before its annual meeting in March.

Rio Tinto plays it safe with compromise chairman

4 Dec 2017

After a nine-month search, the $90 bln miner picked director Simon Thompson over former Xstrata boss Mick Davis to lead the board. His mining, emerging-market and buyout knowhow should prove useful. A fresh push to squeeze out cash is another sign Rio is keeping risks calculated.

Jeremy Corbyn pay row shows costs of bank excess

1 Dec 2017

The UK opposition leader attacked “speculators” and criticised banker pay, as UBS chief Sergio Ermotti defended it. A decade after the crisis, remuneration still fuels dissent. Shareholders' failure to rein it in has led to dismal returns. Volatile politics could be more damaging.

Sexual misconduct will haunt 2018 annual reports

29 Nov 2017

This year brought revelations of companies using shareholder bounty to settle allegations male executives harassed and made unwanted advances on mostly female workers. In the coming proxy season, expect investor proposals pushing for greater disclosure and action on the issue.

Chipotle wraps succession up in rotten governance

29 Nov 2017

The embattled burrito chain’s founder Steve Ells is stepping down as CEO but becoming executive chairman. That puts too many bosses in the kitchen and may hamper the new chief’s ability to stir in much-needed new ingredients. It’s a maneuver other companies have come to regret.

LSE boardroom ceasefire is least bad outcome

29 Nov 2017

CEO Xavier Rolet is leaving the London Stock Exchange immediately, ending an activist campaign for him to stay on. Chairman Donald Brydon will step down in 2019. The compromise averts a longer and more damaging public row. But nobody emerges from the saga with much credit.

Fred Goodwin’s ghost haunts LSE board fight

28 Nov 2017

In 2007 the forceful RBS boss led his bank into a disastrous deal, encouraged by Chris Hohn. The activist investor is now backing London bourse CEO Xavier Rolet against the company’s directors. Hohn’s call for Bank of England support has backfired. Goodwin may help explain why.

Unilever buys more time for HQ beauty parade

28 Nov 2017

The Dove soap maker will postpone a decision on locating its head office in London or Rotterdam. It avoids becoming a lightning rod for discontented voters for now. Sitting on its hands also gives the UK government time to offer up goodies that match or beat Dutch perks.

Julius Baer CEO bows out at private banking peak

27 Nov 2017

Whizzkid Boris Collardi is leaving the Swiss group for smaller rival Pictet after eight years in charge. Bold deals and aggressive Asian expansion boosted earnings and lifted shares to record highs. Toppy markets and intense competition will make life harder for his successor.

Clariant and activist lack a positive reaction

24 Nov 2017

The Swiss chemical maker will devise a new strategy after its merger with rival Huntsman flopped. It rejected demands from White Tale to explore a breakup. Clariant cannot ignore its 20 pct shareholder, but the activist that scuppered the deal needs to propose as well as oppose.

Telecom Italia grid spinoff is no easy quick-fix

24 Nov 2017

The telecom group is reportedly exploring selling a stake in its network. A spinoff might boost TI’s valuation, and ease shareholder Vivendi’s feud with the Italian government. Yet fierce competition from rival Open Fiber would remain unsolved, and deter potential investors.