Victor, re: your favorite company Priceline.com.
They just hired a new CFO. It appears they want to clean up their accounting practices. <g>
I bought some yesterday.
>NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc. <C.N>, the No. 1 U.S. financial services company, said on Wednesday its chief financial officer, Heidi Miller, will quit to become CFO of Priceline.com Inc. <PCLN.O>, an Internet company that lets people bid for everything from airline tickets to groceries.
One of only a handful of women with a top job on male-dominated Wall Street, Miller at Citigroup oversaw the finances of a company with around 160,000 employees in 100 countries, and profits close to $10 billion last year.
She will join a company with around 340 employees, $482.4 million in 1999 revenues, and losses. Priceline, based in Norwalk, Conn., allows consumers to name their own bids over the Internet. Miller also will join Priceline's board, and be senior vice president, strategic planning and administration.
Miller, 46, plans to leave on March 15. Citigroup plans to name a new CFO "in due course," a statement said.
Miller played a large role in the 1998 blockbuster merger between Citicorp and Travelers. She joined Travelers Group in 1992 as vice president for planning and analysis, became CFO in 1995 and continued in that role after the merger.
Priceline's stock finished up 1-3/4 at 51-7/8, but jumped to 55 in after-hours trading. Citigroup's shares closed down 9/16 to 50-11/16.
Traditional U.S. companies are fighting to keep top employees from jumping to Internet companies, that often offer lucrative pay packages including bulging stock option plans.
"Priceline.com represents the perfect e-commerce business," Miller, who has a Ph.D. in history from Yale University, said. "It's a business platform that can sit on top of virtually any industry, whether it's consumer to business, business to business, or consumer to consumer."
At Priceline, she succeeds former CFO Paul Francis, who was named to the board of Walker Digital, the intellectual property firm founded by Priceline founder and vice chairman Jay Walker. Francis also would join two of Priceline's affiliated companies, becoming CFO of Priceline WebHouse Club and nonexecutive chairman of Priceline Perfect YardSale.
"She has made very important contributions to our company's success and while she will be missed, we respect her decision to pursue a new opportunity in a new industry that she feels is simply too good to pass up," John Reed, Bob Rubin and Sandy Weill, who jointly lead Citigroup, said in a statement.
Last year, Miller was named the second most powerful businesswoman by Fortune Magazine behind Hewlett-Packard Co. <HWP.N> President and Chief Executive Carly Fiorina.
20:03 02-23-00 |
