Management & Leadership

Nestlé turnaround plan is bravely boring

26 Sep 2017

Under activist pressure, Europe’s largest food group is aiming to boost profitability. But the newish CEO isn’t inclined to flashy moves like a sale of the L’Oréal stake or a big acquisition. That’s praiseworthy in a way, but it will disappoint Nestlé’s more impatient investors.

Review: How Murdoch’s news revolution devoured him

22 Sep 2017

The play “Ink” dramatises the tycoon’s populist assault on Britain’s cloistered media after buying the Sun in 1969. It’s a deft history of the press culture that eventually led to the phone hacking scandal. These days Rupert Murdoch’s empire is the one at risk of disruption.

Misbehaving CEOs can get off far too easily

21 Sep 2017

That's a lesson to draw from the case of KB Home boss Jeffrey Mezger, whose crass rant with neighbor Kathy Griffin went viral. Cutting his bonus might hurt if he received one in recent years. A more fitting penalty would be to axe his haul of stock awards worth some $2.4 mln.

Deutsche Bank investors are stuck with John Cryan

19 Sep 2017

Some shareholders are understandably frustrated at the lack of recovery at the German lender. But replacing the chief executive wouldn’t boost low returns on equity, and might hinder restructuring. Cryan needs an unlikely investment banking recovery to hit his targets.

Viewsroom: Ray Dalio taps his inner communist

14 Sep 2017

Bridgewater’s founder thinks his kindred spirit resides in China’s anti-corruption czar Wang Qishan. Both seek radical transparency – though Dalio’s hunt is tied to forging a business in the Middle Kingdom. Plus: Exxon’s salvation may lie in the oil fields of West Texas.

What’s with Ray Dalio’s Wang Qishan obsession?

12 Sep 2017

The Bridgewater billionaire says he gets "closer to cracking the unifying code that unlocks the laws of the universe" when he speaks with the anti-corruption czar of China's Communist Party. The odd confession may offer insight into Dalio's ardor for investing in China.

Teva’s new chief faces a tricky recovery

11 Sep 2017

Installing former Lundbeck boss Kare Schultz as CEO has given the Israeli drugmaker’s shares a shot in the arm. The new boss now needs to cut costs, and manage the group’s $35 bln debt pile. That’s hard given Teva’s challenges, and a tough market for generic drugs.

Akzo investors get whiff of reality. It smells bad

8 Sep 2017

The Dutch paint maker promised much better earnings in its defence against an attractively priced takeover by U.S. rival PPG. A profit warning for 2017 shows Akzo will struggle to meet its fanciful targets. But it’s hard for new chief Thierry Vanlancker to wipe the slate clean.

Samsung Electronics is due a board upgrade

31 Aug 2017

The $300 bln tech giant is in disarray after the third-generation leader of its founding family was sentenced to jail. This would be a good time for other shareholders to push for a stronger board, bolstered by experienced outsiders and led by an independent chairman.

Blackstone hunts Japanese deals – and pensions

30 Aug 2017

The U.S. private equity giant has hired a chairman in Tokyo and may earmark a chunk of a new Asian fund for Japanese buyouts. That should help it land money from local institutions, as they prepare to put billions of dollars into alternative investments.

Uber’s new CEO choice will travel well

28 Aug 2017

Expedia boss Dara Khosrowshahi is a surprising but solid pick to run the ride-hailing firm. He has led a newly public travel company, delivering shareholder returns and ticking the right boxes on diversity. Still, Uber’s scale and fluid business model makes it a bigger challenge.

Samsung guilty verdict is a victory for reformers

25 Aug 2017

The de facto leader of South Korea's biggest business faces five years in jail after an historic corruption trial. Assuming the sentence is not overturned, this boosts President Moon, who vowed to rein in powerful conglomerates. It should scare other bosses into behaving better.

Samsung is worse off regardless of trial verdict

24 Aug 2017

A jail sentence for de facto leader Jay Y. Lee would leave Samsung’s flagship $300 bln unit rudderless. A legal victory would create problems, too: Lee’s defence of wielding little power at the wider group damages his authority. It has a leadership deficit either way.

McDonald’s ain’t loving the local Indian recipe

22 Aug 2017

The U.S. burger chain is taking the nuclear option, shutting 169 stores as a spat with a partner boils over. It's one reason McDonald's has fallen behind rivals in a huge potential market. Partnerships are always vulnerable but India's byzantine legal system raises the stakes.

Elliott finds part-victory in Akzo defeat

16 Aug 2017

The U.S. activist failed to arm-twist the Dulux paint maker into a merger with PPG. The Dutch group has, though, committed to a full breakup and put two solid new members on the board. It’s a decent result for Akzo’s investors – although less than Elliott’s might have wanted.

Standard Life’s new start barely beats status quo

14 Aug 2017

Its merger with fellow fund manager Aberdeen seems to have created no value for shareholders since it was announced – maybe due to messy governance and the difficulty of combining teams. Investors may warm to it, but the case for more mega-deals in the sector has yet to be made.

Growing Siemens will be harder than rewiring it

11 Aug 2017

CEO Joe Kaeser has delivered higher margins and healthy shareholder returns by making the engineering behemoth slimmer and more agile in his first four years. He has four more to build on his success. The risk is he will repeat past mistakes by indulging in costly acquisitions.

Wells Fargo dragged kicking again to start afresh

10 Aug 2017

As its fake-accounts scandal keeps turning up new problems, the mega-bank may appoint former Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke to run the board. It would be a welcome but overdue response. A more drastic cleanup is required and the CEO has been at Wells Fargo too long to do it himself.

New Mondelez CEO’s honeymoon may be short

2 Aug 2017

The $66 bln snack purveyor named Irene Rosenfeld’s replacement, reaching outside its ranks for frozen-food executive Dirk Van de Put. It’s an orderly succession others would do well to emulate, but the new boss may still walk into an M&A fight.

Losing its chauffeur is least of AA’s worries

2 Aug 2017

The UK roadside repair group fired boss Bob Mackenzie for gross misconduct and said full-year performance will be worse than expected. AA’s turnaround has disappointed and it remains saddled with debt. The only positive is that it will now be less dependent on one key executive.