Bank Of America CEO Fired As Chairman
Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis has been sh*tcanned from the chairman position, but will remain CEO, says the NYT. Calls for Lewis to resign in shame and go cry alone with his money have been getting louder over the past few months.
From the NYT:
"Ken Lewis has now become the lightning rod of controversy, and that is highly distracting," said Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management, who believes Mr. Lewis should resign. "Even if everything he did was appropriate, it has hampered his legitimacy to lead."
The Merrill Lynch merger and Lewis' subsequent failure to disclose the risks to shareholders, actions which are the subject of an investigation by the attorney general of New York, have resulted in widespread loss of confidence in the previously popular CEO.
In the end, it was close: 50.34 percent of shareholders - 25 million votes - opted to remove Mr. Lewis as chairman. A third voted to remove him from the board altogether. Even before the vote count was final, the bank's directors were considering replacing Mr. Lewis as chairman because it was clear he had lost the support of so many shareholders.
Bank of America Chief Ousted as Chairman [NYT]
(Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times)
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Comments:
Is it true??? Really, you aren't teasing??
Everyone, lay down your torches and pitchforks!
One battle down..... a war to go.
he was fired from Chairman position. Yet, he is still the CEO!!!!!
Doesnt make a difference he's still in charge
@HiPwr: He's still on the flippin' board. He's still CEO. This is decidedly not how a CEO should be fired.
I'm a big fan of drawing and quartering, but scourging is a definite option too...
anyone else have any suggestions?
"Even if everything he did was appropriate..."
If everything he did was appropriate, why isn't BOA a healthy, viable company without need for welfare?
@PunditGuy: Its hard to have any sort of effective corporate governance when senior management is also on the board.
Before we get too excited, let's find out how much they are paying him to leave. Remember, when the head of GM was force to resign by the Prez, he got millions due to his contract. Then the company went under and all the people who are filthy rich polical contributors are getting screwed. I wouldn't be surpeised if the same thing is happening this time. Ken Lewis walks off with millions as payback from the politicians, then everyones 401k gets raped when the company goes under.
@verucalise: I wouldn't really call a man who was CEO and Chairman of the board and became "just" the CEO of multibillion dollar company filled with scandel and fiasco a victory...heck he will probably enjoy having some extra time to himself now.
BOA just picked up my Countrywide mortgage.
From one poorly run company to another. Oh well.
@Parapraxis: I like the way you think. And I am sure we could all come up with other actions that could be treated by those punishments.
For some enlightened reading:
[en.wikipedia.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]
@nakedscience: He is no longer in a position to make the kinds of decisions that upset the shareholders, so he has effectively been fired as CEO.
@howie_in_az: If you are in favor of tarring and feathering incompetent business leaders, does that go for those that work in the government, as well?
If he does end up getting ousted as CEO, I can think of a new job for him...two words: lemon party.
Apparently 50.34% of BofA shareholders can't read a 10-Q.
@geeky_reader: I'm with you - I haven't gotten official notification from BOA that they now own our mortgage, but I know it's coming.
I'm hoping they'll let me pay my mortgage with my BOA credit card, which would get me 1% back. But I'm guessing that will not be allowed.
I don't get it. You get S..t canned from Chairman to CEO ? From a level of incompetency to a level of compentency? Is this the Peter priciple in actual practice? I mean how did he get promoted in the first place, by his competency? I think the entire board of BOA needs to be s..t canned. They themselves don't even have the ability to recognize incompetency, so what make them think they're competent enough to retain thier jobs. Classic finger pointing. Wish I was a fly on the wall at that board meeting.
What exactly does it take to get upper management and the board fired? The stock goes down over 90%, bad buys, poor loan guidelines, stupid investments, giant bonuses despite company disasters. Yet, shareholders still vote to keep the board. So, Lewis is no longer the Chairman of the Board. He still remains the highly paid CEO. I could get 10 friends together and we could do better than the current BAC management. No doubt in my mind.
I don't see why the Boards or Stockholders of these companies keep CEOs CFOs and others of high ranking/decision making positions to keep their jobs after this catastrophe. If I or anyone in any lesser position had facilitated such a massive failure, we would have been fired. Obviously they aren't so great at their jobs and should look for a new profession. Same with the "Big 3". If you slowly run your company into the ground and constantly need support from the government, even before all of this mess, you're obviously not doing something right and don't deserve to continue on. I guess they must feel like their paycheck is a mandatory obligation. Fools.
Sleazebag.
Na Na Na Na...Na Na Na Na...Hey Hey Hey...GOODBYE!
Why doesnt the goverment ever step in and assist people in fighting the unfair practices of B of A? The way they flip account transactions received out of order to pocket overdraft fees. There should be regulations against the practice of constantly taking advantage of their customers. Oh great president help the people. This is a scam and should be stopped now. I am out $100's of dollars because of this (and no longer a customer) and they elect another clone to step in and keep up the scam. Nothing like the bank stealing from their own customers and noone cares. Hell you can't even contact headquarters.
This is exactly how a CEO should be fired.