Some chief executive officers are known for their outstanding skills, the
ability to turn around the fortunes of the companies they run. But there are
others who have tarnished the image of the CEO and the reputation of many
corporate giants.
One of the worst CEOs, India has seen is Satyam's disgraced former chairman
Ramalinga Raju. Raju wreaked havoc in the company he founded. After a failed
acquisition attempt involving Maytas, a family owned company in December 2008,
the share price of Satyam fell drastically. This was just the beginning of the
troubles in the company.
In January 2009, Raju admitted to a Rs 7,800-crore (Rs 78 billion) fraud.
Satyam's accounts had been misappropriated over a number of years. Raju is now
in jail and judicial proceedings are underway.
Talking about worst CEOs around the world, business magazine Conde Nast
Portfolio after consulting with a panel of business school professors,
identifies the business "leaders who helped drive their companies into the
ground."
The magazine has complied a list of America's 20 worst ever CEOs. These 20
include "six men who helped make today's economy stink," the magazine said.
Citigroup's India-born chief Vikram Pandit has found a place among the 20
worst-ever CEOs in America, but the top 'honours' go to bankrupt Lehman
Brothers' former boss Dick Fuld.
Check out the list of the world's worst CEOs...
Image: Ramalinga Raju, founder and former chairman of fraud-hit Satyam
Computers, is escorted from a court in Hyderabad on April 9, 2009.
Photograph: Krishnendu Halder/Reuters
World's 20 worst CEOs
1. Dick Fuld
About Dick Fuld, the Conde Nast Portfolio said that "it's one thing to oversee
the collapse of one of the Wall Street's most esteemed firms. But when your
hubris triggers a national financial panic as well, you're a shoo-in for our
top prize."
As chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, he ignored warnings from
experts on several issues. He refused to talk to buyers and finally the company
had to declare bankruptcy. Fuld earned about $45 million in 2007.
Dick Fuld joined Lehman Brothers in 1969 after giving up his career as an US
Air Force pilot. He turned around the fortunes of the company after he took
over but soon risky mortgages backfired.
>From the years 1993 to 2007, he is said to have received nearly half a billion
>dollars in total compensation. CNN named Fuld as one of the 'Ten Most Wanted:
>Culprits of the Collapse'.
Image: A Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc employee writes a message on a portrait
of Dick Fuld in New York
Photograph: Joshua Lott/Reuters
2. Angelo Mozillo
Angelo R Mozilo was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Countrywide
Financial until July 1, 2008. He started the company in 1969.
The company soon grew to become one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the US.
Countrywide was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1984. They granted
huge loans to borrowers without verifying their repayment abilities.
Promoting risky loans, the company played a crucial role in huge subprime
mortgage crisis. Finally, this led to the collapse of the company. The company
was subsequently taken over by the Bank of America. CNN named Mozilo as one of
the 'Ten Most Wanted: Culprits' of the 2008 financial collapse in the United
States.
Image: Angelo Mozilo before the House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform on Capitol Hill
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
3. Ken Lay
Kenneth Lay, founder of energy giant Enron was found guilty of 11 charges of
fraud and conspiracy that led to the company's collapse.
Enron's bankruptcy in December 2001 was one of the biggest in US history. About
20,000 employees lost their jobs and investors lost billions.
He died before the sentencing, which was scheduled on 23 October 2006. Lay died
on July 5, 2006 while vacationing in Colorado.
Image: Kenneth Lay arrives at the federal courthouse with his wife Linda on
April 25, 2006
Photograph: Richard Carson/Reuters
4. Jimme Cayne
Jimme Cayne may be one of the worst CEOs but the former CEO of Bear Stearns is
a good bridge player.
After losing about $1 billion in net worth from the collapse of Bear Stearns'
stock, he sold his entire stake in the company for $61 million.
In July 2007, the Bear Stearns' hedge funds collapsed, an indication of the
impending global financial credit crisis.
In March 2008, as Bear Stearns was on the verge of bankruptcy, Cayne played
bridge at a tournament in Detroit.
5. Bernard Ebbers
Bernard Ebbers co-founded the telecommunications company WorldCom.
In 2005, he was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in one of the biggest
accounting scams in the US. WorldCom's false financial reporting resulted in a
$11-billion loss to investors. He is currently serving a 25-year prison term.
Image: Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers stands outside the Oklahoma County
courthouse.
Photograph: Jeff Mitchell/Reuters
|
6. AL Dunlap
Albert John Dunlap is popularly known as 'Chainsaw Al' and "Rambo in
Pinstripes". A corporate turnaround specialist, he has been barred from serving
as an officer or director of any public company as a result of his activities
at Sunbeam Corp.
In 1996, he was hired at Sunbeam for a restructuring process. But he was asked
to leave after two years when the company's financial performance and stock
price began to fall drastically. He was also responsible for laying off
thousands of jobs from several companies.
7. Fred Joseph
Fred Joseph was the CEO of Drexel Burnham Lambert and COO of Shearson Hammill &
Company. Drexel Burnham Lambert was a major Wall Street investment banking
firm, which first rose to prominence and then was driven into bankruptcy in
February 1990 by its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market,
in which Fred Joseph played a key role.
8. Jay Gould
Jay Gould was a financier, railroad developer and speculator. He has a
reputation of being one of the most unscrupulous American businessmen. He was
known for stock price manipulation and insider trading. Jay Gould made a
fortune trading in stocks.
Image: Al Dunlap, the controversial corporate turnaround specialist
Photograph: Reuters
9. John Patterson
John Patterson headed NCR Corporation began operations as the National
Manufacturing Company, which manufactured and sold the first mechanical cash
register. The company and patents were bought by John Henry Patterson and his
brother Frank Jefferson Patterson in 1884 and the firm was renamed the National
Cash Register Company
In 1912, the company was found guilty of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Patterson and other executives were convicted for illegal sales practices and
were sentenced to one year of imprisonment. Patterson was known to fire many
employees.
10. John Akers
John F. Akers became chief executive officer of IBM in February 1985. In June
1986, he assumed the additional position of chairman of the board. He retired
from both positions on April 1, 1993 after 33 years of service.
While the rest of the world was moving toward personal computing, Akers
remained stuck in the mainframe age, never quite figuring out what to do with
IBM at a critical point in the tech industry's evolution. Many outsiders viewed
Akers as being in over his head. IBM was paralysed by his lack of
decisiveness," the magazine said.
Image: John F. Akers
Photograph: IBM Website
11. Henry Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist and art patron. Also known as
the father of the modern steel industry Frick was once voted the most hated
man in America.
His action to one of the strikes in Carnegie Steel's mills in protest against
lower wages resulted in resulted in 16 deaths. He was shot three times and
stabbed twice by an activist but he survived.
12. Robert Eugene Allen
Robert Allen was the president of AT&T between 1986 and 1988. He also served as
its CEO and chairman from 1988 until 1997.
Bob Allen forced a unsuccessful merger with computer company NCR Corporation.
AT&T cracked due to his lack of strategy. In 1997, AT&T lost more than $12
billion in a few months. Allen also laid off 50,000 AT& T employees.
Image: Robert Allen
13. Roger Smith
Roger Smith began his career at GM in 1949 as an accounting clerk. He was
appointed chairman and chief executive in 1981, and led the world's largest
automaker until his retirement in 1990.
General Motors CEO Roger Smith's came in for sharp criticism with his closing
several auto plants in Flint, Michigan, resulting in over 30,000 people their
jobs. GM is now on the verge of bankruptcy.
Image: Roger Smith
14. John Sculley
John Sculley was vice-president and president of PepsiCo. He left the company
to join as the CEO of Apple in 1983.
A great strategist at PepsiCo, he faltered at the helm of a technology company.
He was fired when Apple was heading towards bankruptcy.
Image: John Sculley
|
15. Martin Sullivan
Martin J. Sullivan is the former president and CEO of the American
International Group, Inc. In 1996 he was appointed Chief Operating Officer of
AIU in New York and named President in 1997. He was elected to the Board of AIG
in May 2002.
In 2008, Sullivan testified before the United States House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill regarding the bailout of AIG.
AIG's stock price dropped 99 percent during the credit crisis of 2008 and 2009.
A company that was worth over $100 billion before the crisis, had a market
capitalization of just $1.4 billion by February 2009. Despite the crisis,
Sullivan received a huge severance package.
16. Gerald Levin
One of the most powerful media executives, Gerald Levin was the chairman and
CEO of chairman and CEO of Time Warner. Levin steered the merger between AOL
and Time Warner in 2000, a move which was a big disadvantage to Time Warner.
Image: Gerald Levin
|
17. Robert Nardelli
Robert Nardelli is the chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler.
Nardelli was fired from Home Depot after the company lost its market share and
his refusal to give up a huge pay package.
He was then hired by the private equity group Cerberus, which put him in charge
of its struggling Chrysler unit.
Image: Chrysler President Tom LaSorda (L), United Auto Workers President Ron
Gettelfinger, Robert Nardelli
Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters
|
18. Stan O'Neil
Former President, CEO and chairman of the Board of Merrill Lynch & Co, Stan
O'Neil drew a lot of flak for irresponsible fiscal policies that led to the
worst quarterly losses in Merrill Lynch, as a result of which he was forced to
quit.
The firm's stability and capital position deteriorated during his tenure as CEO.
Image: Stan O'Neil
|
19. Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina served as chief executive officer at Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to
2005. A year after joining Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina also became the company's
chairman of the board.
She completed a controversial merger with rival Compaq in 2002. However, in
2005 she was forced to quit as the merger could not bring profits she had
promised.
Image: Carly Fiorina, former Chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard
Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters
20. Vikram Pandit
He "did not create the mess Citi is in, but he is the financial services
equivalent of the Titanic's Edward Smith - a commander ill-equipped to save his
ship," the magazine said.
"When Pandit took over, Citi was already on track to report write-downs and
increased credit costs of $20 billion. Today, the banking supermarket is
propped up by $45 billion in bailouts and is, in effect, owned by the US
government," Conde Nast Portfolio noted.
It further noted that Pandit's current salary was $1, but his "pay package was
valued at $38.2 million for 2008, a year when taxpayers kept the firm in
business."
Image: Vikram Pandit
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