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Politics : A US National Health Care System? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Peter Dierks who wrote (9843)	9/28/2009 12:46:10 PM
From: John Koligman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42652

Oh yeah, big business 'severely punishes' those who fail. LOL!! PS - Just in case you think it's an 'isolated example', I can easily fill the thread today with plenty more if you like. Nardelli landed at Chrysler to 'repair' that company after he collected the 200 mill from Home Depot's stockholders. What a business winner!! Home Depot chairman, CEO Nardelli resigns CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Home Depot Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Nardelli resigned unexpectedly Wednesday after a tumultuous string of high-profile tussles with investors over his hefty pay package, corporate governance issues and shifts in corporate strategy. He was immediately replaced by Vice Chairman Frank Blake, who worked with Nardelli at General Electric Co. Before joining Home Depot in 2002, Blake was a deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy. The news stunned investors, but did little to the stock. Shares of Home Depot /quotes/comstock/13!hd/quotes/nls/hd (HD 27.32, +0.47, +1.75%) , a Dow Jones Industrials component, climbed 2.3% to close at $41.07. The departure, described as "mutually agreed" to, came with a hefty $210 million severance package for Nardelli. The resignation ends a stormy six-year tenure in which Nardelli, often described as autocratic, made great strides to shore up the retailer's balance sheet and growth prospects but alienated a number of executives and sales associates as well as shareholders. "We have mixed feelings about his tenure at Home Depot," Merrill Lynch analyst Danielle Fox said in a research note. "He accomplished much of what he was brought in to do but was divisive." Indeed, Nardelli himself has dominated the headlines about Home Depot. Particularly since the past spring, Nardelli's management style and rich pay package have been main points of contention. See full story. "The thing I've been worried about the most at Home Depot was that Bob Nardelli was such a driven CEO," said Raymond James analyst Budd Bugatch, who ahead of the news Wednesday upgraded Home Depot share to a strong buy from outperform. "That's a good thing, in most cases, but sometimes you go overboard. Bob probably did. He was so driven that he essentially wore people out." By some accounts, Nardelli was out to prove to Jack Welch, the retired chairman of GE /quotes/comstock/13!ge/quotes/nls/ge (GE 16.78, +0.41, +2.51%) , that he was wrong to overlook Nardelli as his successor when he chose Jeffrey Immelt. See full story. Nardelli's resignation and severance package even drew attention in Washington on Wednesday when Incoming House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., said it was more evidence that lawmakers should deal with CEO pay. The pattern of CEO pay "appears to be out of control," Frank said in a statement. Frank has tapped CEO pay and wage inequality as priorities during his term as chairman of the financial panel. Fueling shareholder ire Nardelli also further fueled shareholder dissonance when he, alone, presided over Home Depot's annual meeting last May. In a terse meeting held in Wilmington, Del., Nardelli refused to review the company's performance and placed strict time limits on shareholders' questions, which he also would not answer. In recent months, Nardelli has reversed some decisions and apologized publicly for what he considered mistakes. "We are very grateful to Bob for his strong leadership of the Home Depot over the past six years," the company said in a statement. The company said that Nardelli spearheaded "significant and necessary investments that greatly improved the company's infrastructure and operations, expanded our markets to include wholesale distribution and new geographies, and undertook key strategic initiatives to strengthen the company's foundation for the future." The company, which is the world's largest home-improvement chain, has been working to retain its market share as it battles with rival Lowe's Cos. /quotes/comstock/13*!low/quotes/nls/low (LOW 21.34, +0.29, +1.38%) . It has introduced higher-end merchandise and new private-label products in its stores while offering installation services and bolstering its supply business. Builders and contractors, a key revenue source for Home Depot, have also warned of a steeper-than-expected housing pullback.