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Non-Tech : Conseco Insurance (CNO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (1602)	7/6/2000 1:12:49 AM
From: Sr K	Respond to of 4155

My recollection is that he left (1) because his handling of the divorce case was an embarrassment to GE, and therefore precluded him from ever getting the CEO position (I imagine JW saying pay her the 50%, make the best deal you can, and GW flipping out); and (2) because the plaintiff sought her share of the value of his deferred compensation and stock options (and perhaps in anger), he was willing to lose the value of his unvested options rather than giving her 20% or 50% of their calculated value. Many top execs leave once they know they are no longer in consideration for the top spot. IMO.

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (1602)	7/6/2000 1:54:22 AM
From: Tunica Albuginea	Respond to of 4155

Investigation: Who is Gary Wendt?Why did he leave GE? It appears from the following abstracts that Gary Wendt is a brilliant, hard-driving strategist with a sometimes cantankerous personality, as a result of which he's gotten into arguments with Welch his boss: He is described as " the only man to have shouted at Jack Welch in public: He apparently went " so far as to make a "definite negative reference" to Welch and his relationship to him in a speech earlier this year [1998}. As a result of that "rumors erupted again in October, [1998]... ...as questions began to fly about the subsidiary's health, based on write-offs around the world.... which....pushed GE's stock to a ... low of $71.56 that month[ Dec 98 ]. It is difficult to decide what was happening in 1998 but that is when the market crashed and we had the Asian crisis. So it is possible that there was nothing wrong with Wendt's and his GECapital " far - flung and leveraged investments " and that it was all an Asia collapse story instead. However perhaps Welch didn't see it that way .Welch is a Chemical Engineer by training and perhaps more conservative.He must have tried to reign in Wendt, because it is said that " a stormy relationship with Welch developed " as Wendt " in recent years .. had opposed cuts to GE Capital's back office that have been backed by Welch. As a result of all this Gary Wendt " left Dec. 1998 GE Capital. It then became apparent that after he left GE Capital was " no longer the company’s fastest-growing division, and was less independent than it was. " So it looks like we had a clash of two very strong and independent minded personalities and one of them had to go and it was obviously Wendt and not Welch. In the long run it is quite possible that Welch may regret his choice. Or perhaps he already has which is why he released Wendt from non compete clause. Perhaps also, the fact that Welch was looking for the next 10 years ahead had something to do with it. And finally Sr.K's remarks may have a bearing, that: "he left (1) because his handling of the divorce case was an embarrassment to GE, and therefore precluded him from ever getting the CEO position (I imagine JW saying pay her the 50%, make the best deal you can, and GW flipping out); and (2) because the plaintiff sought her share of the value of his deferred compensation and stock options (and perhaps in anger), he was willing to lose the value of his unvested options rather than giving her 20% or 50% of their calculated value. And, Many top execs leave once they know they are no longer in consideration for the top spot. " . . . Overall now however it looks like Wendt's aggressive style is carrying over. Not even one week at CONSECO and he already liquidated 400 million and the BankCard Business. At this rate we may unload a lot of other garbage at better prices than had been offered before to CNC. After that we move up fast as Wendt does what he does best: Wheel and Deal , TA ---------------------------------------------------------- REFERECES to all above . [ Reuters, June 29, 2000 ] moneycentral.msn.com . . Gary Wendt apparently was brilliant and cantankerous to the point of being " the only man to have shouted at Jack Welch in public: . From The Economist Sept. 1999: The house that Jack Built economist.co.uk Under its independently minded boss, Gary Wendt (“the only man to have shouted back at Mr Welch in public”), Mr Wendt rejoiced in his reputation as the main source of GE’s growth and profit in the early 1990s. But he left last year; and GE Capital, no longer the company’s fastest-growing division, is less independent than it was. " Cnnfn Dec 8, 98. cnnfn.cnn.com Wendt is said to have had a stormy relationship with Welch. In recent years he has opposed cuts to GE Capital's back office that have been backed by Welch. But a company spokesman said that wasn't the reason for Wendt's departure. "The issue is that this is part of GE Capital's transition into the next century," said company spokesman Tony Zehnder. "It's not about personalities, it's about planning for the next century." Marvin Roffman, president of Philadelphia-based investment firm Roffman Miller Associates, however, said Wendt did little to quell the rumors, going so far as to make a "definite negative reference" to Welch and his relationship to him in a speech earlier this year . The rumors erupted again in October, he said, as questions began to fly about the subsidiary's health, based on write-offs around the world. That pushed GE's stock to a recent low of $71.56 that month. . . . Message 13999711 From: Sr K Thursday, Jul 6, 2000 1:12 AM ET Reply # of 1604 My recollection is that he left (1) because his handling of the divorce case was an embarrassment to GE, and therefore precluded him from ever getting the CEO position (I imagine JW saying pay her the 50%, make the best deal you can, and GW flipping out); and (2) because the plaintiff sought her share of the value of his deferred compensation and stock options (and perhaps in anger), he was willing to lose the value of his unvested options rather than giving her 20% or 50% of their calculated value. Many top execs leave once they know they are no longer in consideration for the top spot. IMO ------------------------------------------- From CFOnet Jan 99 Lighting it up at GE cfonet.com " Compared to Wendt's aggressive, hard-charging style, Dammerman's style is seen by many to be more conservative. "Every executive brings [his or her] own style to an organization," says Roffman. "I think this is a positive development." . . .