Word: cunninghams
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...Mary Cunningham's name evokes scenes of boardroom intrigue, corridor passion and mergermaking behind closed doors. For more than three years Cunningham, 32, has remained steadfastly silent about the intimate details of her swift rise and fall at Bendix and her highly publicized relationship with Bendix Chairman William Agee, 46. Now she, along with Fran Schumer, tells her tale in Powerplay: What Really Happened at Bendix (Linden Press/Simon & Schuster...
From a strict Roman Catholic upbringing in Hanover, N.H., where she was a studious child ("I could sense that people felt I put a damper on things"), Cunningham emerged with high ideals and fierce ambition. She graduated from Wellesley, married Howard ("Bo") Gray, a black New York City banker, and earned a degree from the Harvard Business School in 1979. After considering more than 30 job offers, she accepted one as the executive assistant to Agee at Bendix, a conglomerate based in Southfield, Mich. Cunningham moved to Michigan while her husband remained in New York. The couple later divorced...
...Bendix, Agee began turning to Cunningham for advice on matters ranging from company strategy to finding a cleaning woman. She and Agee shared a disdain for the performance of many Bendix executives. After a year as executive assistant, she became vice president for public relations, and later assumed responsibility for strategic planning...
...September 1980, however, Bendix was buzzing with rumors about romance in the executive suite. Not only had Cunningham's rapid rise attracted attention, but the boss seemed to be spending an unusual amount of time with her. They checked into the same hotels on business trips, shared limousines and spent late nights working together. The two strongly denied the charges of a romance, and Cunningham today insists that she was the victim of office gossips who envied her position. Bowing to pressure inside and outside the company, Bendix officials forced Cunningham to resign in October 1980. Less than...
...months after the marriage, Cunningham, who was now a vice president for planning at Seagram's, and Agee were again in the news. Agee was leading a Bendix attempt to take over Martin Marietta, the defense contractor, and Cunningham was at his side. In the end, Bendix not only failed to get Martin Marietta but was taken over by Allied...