Well, here's my analysis of this latest turn of events, FWIW.
Have you ever had a great line that you were just waiting to use? Were you ever frustrated because you had the perfect zinger that would put your opponent in his place, but the opportunity never arose to use it? Well, I'm feeling a bit frustrated now. Imagine what I could have said if Rhodes were kicked off the Board and lost all his power in PRLN:
If this were a football game it would be first down and 6 to go.
Or maybe I would have alluded to a different game:
Hey Keith! So sorry you lost your MONOPOLY of power at PRLN. I have just one piece of advice for you:
GO TO JAIL! GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL!
DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200.
Ah, but I can't say this for Rhodes is still a Dirctor and still has considerable power over this company. And unfortunately this has more grevious ramifications than my not being able to get in a good zinger or two.
1) If the other members of the board were intent on cleaning up this mess, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T THEY KICK RHODES OFF THE BOARD? I would like to think that they removed Rhodes from the CEO/Presidency position because they thought he was corrupt, or at least because they thought he did a lousy job. But if this were the case they would have booted him off the Board and filed a lawsuit against him. Since he still is on the Board, I think it's likely that this move was just to remove him from such a highly visible position. Let's face it. He made an easy target for me and others to attack. Keeping him on as CEO is like hanging a big sign on the Company's rear end saying "KICK ME".
But he is still a power behind the scenes. This move may just be more window dressing for the company, like the appointment of Alfred Alberts to the company as a science consultant after Dr. Babish's resignation. (Does anyone know what he's done for the company? Where are the results of the AndroCar studies that should have been completed in June? What's it all about, Alfie?)
I've done a search for Dr. Tachovsky and Protyde Pharmaceuticals on HOTBOT and I found nothing. I'll have to try some other search engines later, if I have time. I see that Hank hasn't had much luck finding anything either. Therefore, I don't have too strong a feeling for him one way or another. On the plus side, he's bound to have a better scientific background than Rhodes. And he can't possibly screw things up as much as he did. I do have to wonder why he took this job, though, and why these Directors chose him. I can only think of three possibilities.
1) He is totally naive and is unaware of all the controversy that surronds this company. However, he was at the shareholders meeting in August and I don't see how he could be oblivious to the shareholders' anger at the meeting unless he was asleep.
2) He knows that this company is run by a pack of (alledged)scoundrels and he just doesn't care. Maybe he thinks the company's technology is so good he can take the company somewhere despite the fact that there are (alledged) thieves on board. If this is the case, it would explain why the Board members picked him. I can't see them choosing someone who wanted to throw the rascals out. But I think it's naive to think that he can turn the company around just because of its technology. After all, they still have to get money and they may have a hard time making deals or getting loans if potential dealmakers view the Board as untrustworthy. More importantly, though they have the screening technology, I am not at all certain that they still have access to a supply of Chinese herbs. Colin Campbell was PRLN's China connection. They may have lost this connection when Campbell walked out in disgust. This hypothesis is reinforced by the fact that they made such a big deal in their lawsuit against Babish about Babish's potential dealing in South American herbs. They accused Babish of usurping a business opportunity and preventing the company from getting South American herbs for screening. Why would they want to screen herbs from South America when they have another 2200 to 7200 Chinese herbs left to screen? Unless, of course, those Chinese herbs are no longer available. So even if Tachovsky is a good scientist, he will have an uphill struggle if the company has lost its Chinese connection. And what other government would want to make a deal to sell their herbs to PRLN if they don't like the reputation of its Board members? Surely, they have other avenues to marketing their national treasures. And finally, if he doesn't care that the men on Board are (alledged) weasels, then he is not a man of integrity and is not someone to be trusted.
3) Tachovsky knows about the controversy surrounding this company, knows that it's run by men of ill repute, and plans to do some thorough housecleaning. He thinks that he will be able to overcome the company's problems once he kicks them off the Board and gives the company a fresh start. The problem with this is that he is only the CEO (and only an acting one, at that) and not a Board member. The members of the Board could blow him away like a used Kleenex the minute he started to challenge them for power. If he is planning on wrestling control from them he is either hopelessly naive or he is very clever and able to see opportunities that I do not. For all our sakes, let's hope it's the latter.
Robin |
