This is a list of 10 large cap public companies where Wall Street would likely reward each stock if the CEO would either step down or if he was forced out. Please read carefully, because many of these CEO’s don’t need to leave immediately nor entirely to please the investor community. Not a single one represents any attack, but Wall Street would rather see the CEO’s change.
This list has been run over the last two weeks, so new comments have been added here. Please read the notes, because not all of these are calls for an outright sacking nor are all of these meant as radical changes. There are links back to the original stories, but please understand all of the stock prices are currently different.
Amazon.com’s (AMZN) Jeff Bezos.He doesn’t need to go away entirely! He just needs to do a partialtitle change. But will anyone inside the company tell the emperor he iswearing no space suit? The company has scored high marks for the holiday season, but a splitting of the office of President & CEO would greatly benefit the company with some fresh blood.
Citigroup’s (C) Chuck Prince. The prince calls for Draconian measures, and maybe the prince didn’t mean just THIS Prince. Cramer thinks he is gone this time next year, and the shares have been running up based on the hopes that the street will force change.
Dell’s (DELL) Kevin Rollins. Rollinsmay survive since the stock has managed to recover. The business is not as bad nor as dire as the initial stock performance was before a recovery, but Wall Street has made up its mind. Most of my own computers are Dell and that won’t change. But for Rollins to be saved, the stock will have to at least show stability and the SEC issue needs to be resolved soon.
Eastman Kodak’s (EK) Antonio Perez. Maybe he’s nice, but for heaven’s sake get the restructuring over with and get some mojo. Bring in a REAL digital media leader. I received emails on this confirming they are taking way too long to restructure and that they aren’t moving fast enough; although Mr. Perez is said to be nice. Being nice doesn’t cut it and he really needs to at least bring in a new person that can offer a strategy in a changed world.
Gap Inc.’s (GPS) Paul Pressler. Every generation may have one, but his generation gap has helped the Gap to alienate customers and send them to competitors. For a stock to be up so much on a takeover "HOPE" you have to worry. Most stores are leased so there is little real estate play here. Cash flow remains positive, and "valuation" is about the only thing that makes Gap attractive.
Home Depot’s (HD) Bob Nardelli.Does anyone on Wall Street respect him? Just because he was one of therunners-up to run G.E. doesn’t mean he shouldn’t change his name toRichard. I received what were claims of "ex-employee" emails claiming Nardelli & Co. managed to kill off the entrepreneurial spirit of the employees here and replace the culture with that of an hourly worker mentality. I didn’t note that previously and if so, "Bob you gotta go if you broke what was working great." The company has also signalled it was leveraging up just to make it harder to control the company. Miraculously Cramer said this morning in an article that Mr. Nardelli may not be able to screw it up and it could run $10 from here if housing improves.
Qualcomm’s (QCOM) Paul Jacobs. He isn’t being sent home yet, but his dad’s shoes are proving very hard to fill. This is not an outright call that Jacobs the Younger needs to go. He asked to be judged on the bottom line when he took control, and Wall Street does that buy share prices. I received some hate mail over even hinting at this even though my title strictly qualified this as a "may" need to go, yet the following evening after posting this the company offered some guidance that was far less than exciting. Time is ticking.
Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) & XM Satellite Radio (XMSR). It is a dead heat in the race, and if two companies need to merge, it’s these two. There can be only one. The funny thing is that actually both can survive if you read into the plan here.
Wal-Mart’s (WMT) Lee Scott. Thecompany is struggling under its own weight, and it needs some good PR.Getting rid of the Darth Vader of Corporate America and bringing insomeone fun and likeable would be the best start. Most of the emails I received and the other comments posted elsewhere on this about Lee Scott were not really from the investor viewpoint, but there was almost nobody out there ready to say he is a great leader. The WSJ even said the company problems are likely to persist, so if the company wants to do well they should clean house and bring in people who can clean their image.
Yahoo!’s (YHOO) Terry Semel. Yes, when you see him leave or forced out, Yahoo! holders should be happy. Panama is out and it is hanging in on new search data, but Wall Street would love to see Mr. Semel leave.
Alot of these may be controversial, and there are plenty of othercompanies which might benefit from a new CEO. None of these attacks arepersonal and these are merely based on observation and analysis. Thelist could probably be 100 CEO’s long.
by Jon C. Ogg
Mr. Ogg holds NO positions in securities of any of the companies mentioned and he has not been compensated to represent any of these companies in any particular manner.
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